Slytherin Muggle-Born
by ImanSlytherin
Summary: Going back to Hogwarts to complete her N.E.W.Ts should have been simple enough, if not for her house-mates and the fact that a "celebratory" Triwizard Tournament and all that it entailed. Magdalene Middleton was in for an interesting seventh year. Hogwarts era. Mild (imo) swearing.
1. Chapter One

**Chapter One:**

She hurried outside of the Leaky Cauldron, her purse hanging from the crease of her right elbow and her coat on the other side, without looking in front of her. Magdalene Middleton was late for a job interview at the Zabini manor, to be a personal nurse to the oldest member of the family. She knew whose family it was, naturally, and hoped that it would not be a hindrance to her obtaining the job. Blaise Zabini used to be a classmate of hers at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Maggie would never forget her first day there…

 _Her parents had accompanied her to the train station, but having no idea as to how to get on platform 93/4, they decided to wait for someone who knew Hogwarts and ask them how to get on the platform. After nearly half an hour of trying to decipher the wizards from their fellow Muggles, a rather eccentric-looking old woman appeared in the crowd. She was flanked by a sleepy looking boy, roughly Magdalene's age, rolling his luggage upon which sat a quiet toad. The woman complained loudly about how disorganised that 'Muggle'-station was. Maggie's father knew the word meant non-magic people, after hearing it from a redhead father in Diagon Alley, who helped the newcomers adapt to the extraordinary world. His name was something like Arthur Weasley, the eleven-year-old remembered. The lady on the train station kindly helped her and her parents access the platform after saying that her last name and her grandson's was Longbottom. The little girl muffled a snort and her mother glared at her, hissing "Manners, Magdalene!" under her breath._

 _The platform was overly crowded, mainly with adults. The train was bright red and, unlike on the Muggle platform, it was a steam engine. Occasionally her parents spent a few weeks abroad for work while Magdalene stayed with her cousins. Aside from that, she had never been separated from them for more than a week. She hugged her mother tightly and her father lifted her so that she could hug him with both arms._

 _They said their goodbyes and she went inside the train holding her month old black kitten_ ** _,_** _whom she still hadn't named yet_ ** _,_** _on one arm and her school uniform on the other. She walked up and down compartments looking for some room for herself. One compartment held four boys and a girl, so she figured that she could use the sixth place on the seat. There was a chocolate-skinned boy sitting next to a boy with white blond hair, who stared at her with obvious disgust, in front of them were one tall plump boy next to a short and equally as thick one. The girl looked like she could be the twin of the blond boy, as her hair was just as bright and her eyes, just as dark._

 _"Can I sit here?" she asked shyly._

 _"Name," said the blond curtly._

 _"Magdalene Middleton," she said hesitantly "why?"_

 _"I don't know you," he replied simply, "and if I don't know you, you're not worthy of sitting here."_

 _"Listen here, you little albino, wizard or not_ ** _,_** _I'm not going to let you decide anything for me. I've always stood up for myself and you're never going to change that!" she said without pausing once._

 _"And a Mudblood on top of that!" was his falsely-impressed response._

 _The girl looked like she was going to speak, but Magdalene had heard enough. She huffed as she didn't understand the word he'd used to insult her, she would never show weakness in front of him or any other bully, ever. She continued on her quest for a seat and found a compartment occupied by two girls and the Longbottom boy she recognised from the train station. He had fallen asleep._

 _"Can I sit here?" She whispered._

 _"Of course," said one girl without lifting her eyes off of her book "I'm Hermione Granger, what's your name?"_

 _"Magdalene Middleton," she said warily, expecting the same scenario as with the blond-haired boy._

 _"I'm Rebecca Cole," the second girl introduced herself without looking away from the view at the window._

 _"That's Neville Longbottom, right there. I suppose that he isn't quite used to waking up early," Hermione remarked with a pitying look before resuming her reading._

 _"Yeah, my parents and I met him and his gran at the train station. They showed us how to get onto the platform," Magdalene declared as she sat with her kitten on her lap._

 _"Oh, so you're a Muggle-born!" Rebecca squealed excitedly "Just like she is!"_

 _"Shhh!" Hermione hissed, as Neville stirred in his sleep._

 _"Sorry," Rebecca mouthed._

 _"What about you?" Maggie asked._

 _"I'm Half-Blood," she said casually._

 _"Meaning?"_

 _"My mum is a pure blood and my dad is a Muggle-born," she explained._

 _"Can I ask you something?" Magdalene asked, uneasy._

 _"Of course," Rebecca assured her, and Hermione nodded absentmindedly._

 _"What's a Mudblood?"_

 _Both heads jerked up, shock plastered all over their faces. Rebecca's eyes were wide and Hermione was fishing for words_ ** _._** _Finally, Magdalene realised that what she had said was probably a mean insult_

 _"It's a foul word to designate Muggle-born witches and wizards, never used in civilised conversations," Hermione squeezed out in a strained voice, returning to her book with pursed lips._

 _"Where did you hear that?" Rebecca asked._

 _"A boy called me that. I don't know how he figured out what kind of witch I am. He asked for my name and that's all."_

 _"Do you know his name?"_

 _"No, but he was so blond he looked like an albino. Well, I did call him that before he insulted me, but that was because his tone was insulting." Magdalene shrugged, hoping her description might be helpful._

 _Rebecca scoffed. "Must be a Malfoy, his father's always mean to mine at the Ministry of Magic."_

 _"Well whoever he is, I'm not being disrespected," she decided._

 _"'Morning," mumbled a boy's voice, Neville had woken up "where's Trevor?"_

 _"Who?"_

 _"Trevor, my toad" he clarified._

 _"Oh… I haven't seen it" she said._

 _"Trevor?" Neville called, looking in between trunks. "He must've gone away. I'll go look for him." He stood up and walked out of the compartment._

 _"I'll see if he needs any help," said Hermione as she closed her book and stood up._

 _Rebecca and Magdalene stayed in the compartment and continued their conversation. Later on, a disappointed Neville and a rather fascinated Hermione got back to the compartment and spoke about the presence of a "Henry" Potter being inside the train. Magdalene did not question it, must've been the son of the Minister of Magic or something. She and Rebecca put on their robes and fled the train as it stopped, by nightfall. The kitten, which had fallen asleep right when she sat down in the compartment, woke up frightened again at the sight of so many people going about. She hid the female kitten inside her robes and was careful not to crush her. A giant bearded and overall hairy man with an accent led the first years to boats that transported them to a well-lit castle. A tall, black-haired witch wearing a long, emerald velvet dress and a pointed black hat was waiting for the first years at the top of the stairs shown to them by the giant named Hagrid._

 _"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," he grunted._

 _"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here_ ** _,_** _" he left for the Great Hall and she turned to them_ ** _._** _"Welcome to Hogwarts, the start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your houses will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house_ ** _'s_** _common room._ ** _"_**

 _"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points and inversely any rule-breaking will lose your house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting._

 _Her eyes lingered on Neville's cloak an instant, and Allison tried to fix her brown blonde hair as much as she possibly could while another boy nervously attempted to flatten his black hair._

 _"I shall return when we are ready for you," said Professor McGonagall. "Please wait quietly."_

 _She left and whispered conversations broke out. Hermione was whispering very fast about everything she'd learned already. A gasp made everyone turn around to see about twenty ghosts, pearly-white and slightly transparent. They glided across the room deep in conversation about someone named Peeves, and how they already forgave him enough. One round and plump, named Fat Friar, said he hoped to see most of the students in Hufflepuff, his old house. McGonagall came back moments later, telling them to form a line and follow her. They were led inside the gigantic Great Hall where four endless tables with benches on either side were placed perpendicular to a fifth elevated table which held teachers and the bearded headmaster. Magdalene looked up to find a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars and, for an insane moment, she thought that there was no ceiling at all._

 _Hermione caught her gaze. "It's bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in_ Hogwarts: A History. _"_

 _"Looks pretty real to me," Magdalene mumbled._

 _She looked at the faces of the students. One table on the left only had occupants with blue ties and blazons: they looked at the first years in a, analytical way. Behind them was a table with students who wore green ties and who seemed rather curious with the first years. To Magdalene's right was a table with peaceful looking students wearing yellow and behind them were the cheerful red and gold uniforms. A voice from in front of her said a loud "HUFFLEPUFF!" guiding Magdalene's gaze toward a girl named Hannah who jumped off a four-legged, wooden stool to go sit with the cheering yellow-dressed students. Maggie then followed the Sorting Ceremony and when one student was sent to the Slytherin house, she heard the redhead tell the nervous, black haired boy that there wasn't one bad wizard who wasn't in Slytherin. She gulped hard and hoped that she would not be sorted to that house._

 _"Malfoy, Draco!" called Professor McGonagall._

 _The platinum-haired boy swaggered confidently toward the stool and sat on it. The Sorting hat had yet to touch his head before it exclaimed "Slytherin!" and he went to the green-dressed students' table. She turned back to McGonagall who glanced at her list and called again. Magdalene knew that name. She knew whose it was. It was hers! She drew in a deep, shaky breath, and walked somewhat steadily to the stool. Stairs, why did it have to be stairs? At that moment? Never mind that, why did she even have to face so many people in the first place? No time for the answers, she was sitting on the stool before she even realised that she was moving. The hat felt dusty_ ** _,_** _and oddly heavy_ ** _,_** _on her squirrel ginger, shoulder-length hair_ ** _._**

 _"Interesting, very interesting," it said thoughtfully "I see ambition, a bright mind and a strong tongue as well… The perfect house for you would be… SLYTHERIN!"_

 _Shock ran through her spine at once, she froze on the stool, sure that she had misheard the talking hat_ ** _,_** _or at least that it had made a mistake it was about to correct… But none of that happened, instead she walked stiffly to the table at her right where the green-dressed students were applauding her… The redhead's words haunted her._ Not one bad wizard wasn't in Slytherin...

 _"Welcome to Slytherin house," a tall boy with fair skin and dark hair with a P embroidered next to his Slytherin coat of arms greeted her before helping her find a seat._

 _After the rest of the first years were sorted, the headmaster made a speech and the feast appeared on the tables at once. Magdalene was neither impressed by the magic nor was she feeling hungry at all. The news of her attributed house made her stomach toss and turn_ ** _,_** _making it impossible for her to even look at food. Instead, she rubbed her cat between eyes and ears letting the purring appease her and thinking of a name for the little fur ball._

Shaking her head, Magdalene sighed at the memory. She shuffled through the door only to bump into someone in a black-on-black suit so tall that she, who stood at 5'1", was facing his black button down shirt. Maggie looked up, only to be taken aback by who it was…


	2. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two:**

"M-Malfoy?" She stuttered.

He glanced down at her. "Oh… You?"

She erased the surprise on her face and said, "Sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going."

"Where are you headed?" he asked, seeming mildly interested.

She stared at him like he had three heads, he never paid attention to her, let alone care. "I-I uh… I was on my way to a job interview…"

"Oh…" he hesitated for a moment, and then nodded. "Good luck."

"Thanks…" she said warily.

After that awkward meeting, she hurried again to the Disapparate. This was the seventh job interview that she had since the school year ended with the Dark Lord's defeat, and every single one of her interviewers asked about her N.E.W.T report, and when she said that she didn't have it, she was dismissed. Magdalene decided that if she was met with yet another refusal, she would go back to Hogwarts in order to perform her N.E. , or even ask to teach there if possible. She did know a bit of potions, and they were short on teachers since that final battle. After all—

"Can I ask you something?" His voice again, interrupting her thoughts.

She turned Malfoy. "Certainly."

"Why did you save my life?" he asked, making her regret her last sentence.

 _Suddenly, everything else disappeared. The memories of the final battle came rushing in. She was running for the Great Hall, dodging Stunning Spells and Unforgivable Curses alike, trying to find shelter. She hid behind a door while a jet of red light passed right where she was standing half a second ago. She Stunned the attacker before arriving at a quiet part of the castle where four figures were fighting. She recognized two of them as Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini going up against two Death Eaters. She stayed hidden for the most part but when Blaise got Stunned and fell to the floor, leaving Malfoy alone against two Death Eaters, she decided to help the person who had despised her the most during her years at Hogwarts._

 _"Stupefy!" Draco yelled pointing his wand at one of his opponents but she was faster._

 _"Expelliarmus!" the Death Eater said, rather enraged, disarming Malfoy._

 _"Protego!" Magdalene ran to Malfoy's side and procured a shield to separate them from the dark wizards. **"** Come on, we need to run!" she hissed, pulling him by the sleeve of his dusty, black vest._

 _"But Blaise—" Malfoy stammered._

 _"We'll come back for him when it's quiet, come_ on _!" She pulled him harder._

 _He blinked twice, awestruck before grabbing his wand and following her to one of the Herbology greenhouses. She slid down the wall and sighed as he held his knees, eager for a chance to catch his breath. She gazed at him from the corner of her eye; he looked wounded, and his left sleeve was torn so that she could see the Dark Mark. It was true, then. He was one of them._

 _"Why were they attacking you?" Magdalene asked suddenly, without meaning to._

 _He scowled. "What do you mean?"_

 _She eyed his Dark Mark meaningfully before saying, "Aren't you supposed to be one of them?"_

 _He glanced at his left forearm as though he'd just notice he had one. "I've never met those, right there. I'm on the other side regardless."_

 _Insanely, she giggled. "The other side, huh?"_

 _He looked at her as though she were crazy — which she understood — and a smile tugged at the corners of his lips as he said, "Too many people I know on one side and not enough power on the other"_

 _"Are you hurt?" She asked._

 _"Huh?"_

 _"Is your body wounded?" She asked, emphasizing the 'body' part._

 _He nodded. "My leg, I think."_

 _She stood up, took a pair of scissors from the tool-shelf, and cut a leaf that she knew would help any physical pain._

 _"Pants up," she instructed. He stared at her incredulously. "Come on, Muggle blood isn't contagious."_

 _He sneered at her. "Why?"_

 _She knew what he meant, but she derived the subject as she lifted his leg on her lap. "This leaf is great with physical pain, eases almost everything besides the Cruciatus Curse because—"_

 _"—because it's a trick on the mind rather than the body itself." Malfoy finished, and it was her turn to stare at him. "I do listen in class." He smirked._

 _"Well, that's shocking." She said in a monotone._

 _"Never thought you would be any good at Herbology, either." He looked on, as she massaged the cut on his left calf with the leaf. "Thanks." He squeezed out, like a spasm in his throat._

 _"You're very welcome," she sighed, standing back up. "In exchange, I'll ask for you not to try and kill me," she added, with a nervous giggle._

 _"Deal."_

 _"Let's go find Blaise, hopefully, he's still alive."_

That was the most pleasant and civilised conversation that she had ever had with Draco Malfoy. Until their most recent encounter, that was. She couldn't think straight, couldn't think of a good enough answer for his question.

She cleared her throat. "I helped you because you were outnumbered and clearly not at ease with a wand."

"It was my mother's, mine was… I lost it." He muttered, walking to distract her from his avoidance of the topic.

"I've had classes with you for six years; I know what your wand looks like. Potter was using it. Probably disarmed you at some point or something, but that's my mere assumption."

He shook his head. "Why did you come at my rescue when, in your mind, I wouldn't have done the same for you?"

" _In my mind_?" She glanced at her watch meaningfully rather than for its main purpose and coldly murmured, "I should be going, we'll probably meet again."

With that, she Disapparated, leaving him to his tormented thoughts as he too Disapparated. She arrived in front of the gates of the Zabini estate. It was one of the very few that were not subjected to raids, only because the Zabini family members were never among the Sacred Twenty-Eight for their involvement with Veelas every few generations. Maggie knew that fact because Blaise had been the only Slytherin that she had gotten to know beyond last name basis. The reason behind that was tutoring sessions in the library, which started in third year.

 _"Take Arithmancy, they said." Magdalene muttered, as she turned a page of a book she had not understood a word of. "It'll be fun, they said."_

 _In her third year, she chose Divination, Muggle Studies, and Arithmancy as specifics. The two formers worked like a charm, but the latter proved to be utter bullshit as she slowly found out that she had set herself up for failure. She gave up and let her forehead fall on top of the open book. She sighed audibly before hearing a shift in the air and the sound of a chair gently scraping the stone floor next to her. She had chosen a spot near the window, overlooking the Black Lake, which meant that whoever had sat next to her meant to start a conversation… Or they were just unaware of the concept of personal space._

 _"Whoever it is now's not the moment," she grunted._

 _"Gentleness has never been your forte," an oddly familiar voice mused._

 _Maggie's head shot up to face "Zabini? To what do I owe the honour?"_

 _"Your comments about your choices are hardly quiet. I initially intended on taking my research to the common room, but you looked so pathetic, I thought you needed the help."_

 _Her eyebrows rose lazily as she regarded him, sitting so casually next to her. "And what do you want, in exchange?"_

 _Zabini chuckled and glanced over her head, at the setting sun beyond the window. "And what makes you think that I'm expecting something in return?"_

 _"Two years in the Slytherin common room as a Muggle-Born. I learned to listen when I got bored of reading. You do the math." She regarded his Muggle Studies related book pointedly._

 _He followed her gaze and his chuckle turned into a smirk. "How very Slytherin of you. Yes, I'd like to exchange favours with you. I help you with Arithmancy and you help me with Muggle Studies. It seems like your area of expertise."_

 _She lifted an eyebrow. "How very convenient, then, that I just so happen to be Muggle-Born."_

 _"Your comment should best be directed at Draco, since he is the one always going on about being a Pure Blood." He remarked, hiding irritation._

 _Magdalene regarded him for a full minute before sighing. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't be making assumptions. You've never said a word against me."_

 _"I forgive you. It would be preferable if you made assumptions based on what people show you, rather than your own personal experiences."_

 _"It'd be preferable, yes."_

 _He leaned closer to her, peeking at the open book in front of her. "Tell me where you're stuck."_

From then on, whenever the pair of them met regularly—especially when Wand Lore was thrown into the mix in sixth year—, they had developed a tentative sort of friendship, and she hoped that it would help her get a job despite having no N.E. to show for. However, she had a feeling that it was not going to happen. She had to try nevertheless.

The door opened and she was greeted by a house elf. "Hello, Miss. Are you the new nurse?"

Magdalene, who had never directly addressed a house elf, stammered, "Ye—uh no, well, I hope I will be."

"You've never been very eloquent, have you?" A familiar voice rang from the entrance hall.

"Not when talking to a house elf for the first time, no." Maggie chuckled. "I didn't know you lived here…"

"Did 'Zabini' not ring any bells?" He inquired, leaning against the door frame, wearing simple black trousers and a dark polo sweater over a white button down shirt. He folded his arms over his chest, and looked down at the elf. "You can go back now, get tea ready in the drawing room."

"Yes, Master Blaise." With that, the elf disappeared with the _snap_ of Apparition.

He then turned to Magdalene. "My grandfather is waiting for you. Fair warning, though, he can be a bit of a tease."

"By 'a bit', you mean—?"

"A lot, yeah." He pushed the French doors and murmured "Good luck, Magdalene."

He arrived in front of the silver gates, but not those at the Malfoy estate. He had decided to play a trick on Magdalene, make his family's oldest friends require only Os in the N.E. of their interviewee. He was let in by the same elf that had greeted Magdalene only hours before heading straight to the study where he knew he would find the old wizard he was looking for. He knocked, and the French doors opened to reveal a grand mahogany desk surrounded with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves and the Zabini family tree illustrated in a tapestry. Behind the desk sat a silver-haired wrinkled man wearing rectangular glasses, Draco knew him as Edmund Zabini, Blaise's grandfather. And behind Edmund, the wall was composed of floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the luxurious gardens of the property.

"Well, if it isn't little Draco Malfoy," Edmund murmured with a suave, velvety voice, "What brings you here by this fine evening, son?"

"I hear you're hiring," Draco began, a plan forming in his head "and I happen to know today's candidate very well."

"Do you, now?" He asked leaning in, clearly interested.

"Magdalene Middleton, am I correct?" Draco asked back. Without waiting for an answer, he carried on, "Careless, lazy… Between you and me, Edmund, I don't even think that she's a pure."

"Blood status holds no importance to me, son, never have been," he declared, eyeing Draco expectantly. "You should know that…"

Draco coughed nervously. "Naturally, sir. Did I tell you that she did not even pass her N.E. ?"

"Did she not?" He asked, clearly unimpressed. "What about you? And what about that cousin of yours?"

Draco's mouth fell. "Uh— I— I uh…"

"I will only refuse to employ Miss Middleton on one condition," Edmund spoke, leaning back.

"Which is...?"

He cleared his throat. "You, along with Middleton and your cousin, have to go back to Hogwarts for your seventh year. I want to see you three and my grandson in this office a year from now with your N.E. , and I will not take no for an answer. If this is not accomplished, you, instead of Middleton, will do the work that she's applying for today. Is it clear?"

Draco cringed at the thought of having to take care of the man in front of him. "Crystal." He stood up and shook Edmund's hand. "Pleasure to see you, Edmund, my greetings to your grandson."

"Naturally," he drawled with a satisfied smirk.

Draco left the study rather swiftly, eager to leave this God forsaken house. He Floo'ed to Malfoy Manor, where the two most important females of his life were. His mother, Narcissa, grieved ever since the final battle: her husband was in Azkaban, her eldest sister died, and her estranged sister was taking care of her orphan Half-Blood. The second most important female in his life was his cousin, best friend, and confidant, who lost her parents in that final battle. Draco lost one of his oldest friends, more or less, in that battle too. Not to mention his father's imprisonment. Overall, life could have been better. Draco ignored the house elf that suggested he hung his vest, ignored his mother asking him where he had been, and made his way as fast as he could without actually jogging to his cousin's room.

Victoria Malfoy. Physically, she could be his twin sister with her stormy grey eyes, mid-back length wheat blonde hair, and cocky facial expressions. But when it came to personality, they were slightly different. Draco thought it was because they simply had different parents, but Victoria thought it was because her principles were placed more strategically. Whatever the reason, their similarities, as opposed to their differences, have made them best of friends and confidants. Being Victoria's best friend had its benefits, but the cons thereof were just as pronounced: her teasing, her fake haughtiness around other people and mostly the fact that Draco knew exactly how she would take Edmund Zabini's proposal. Draco braced himself and knocked on the door…


	3. Chapter Three

**Chapter Three:**

Victoria, unlike one might think, was not obsessed with blood status. However, with her family background, her parents' expectations, she tended to pretend otherwise. She was currently in her room at Malfoy manor, reading a classical Muggle book she had kept hidden from her family's sight for over a year: Wüthering Heights by Emily Brontë, pretty good but not enough. Her room consisted of a vast bedroom with a semi-circle balcony. The latter was accessible through tall windows hidden with heavy, burgundy velvet curtains on either side and white, silken curtains in the centre. A white marble and black vanity sat on the far right corner, opposite the entrance, and a white and gold velvet ottoman was on the right wall, with a queen-size four-poster bed with white silk beddings and dark burgundy velvet curtains. On the right was the door to her study, with overflowing ebony bookshelves, her father's life-size portrait on the wall right behind her black leather desk chair, a mahogany desk, and two chairs on the other side of the desk. Her bathroom was all white marble, her bathtub had golden lion paws, and her full-length mirror had similarly coloured borders.

She was on her way to replace the book when she heard a hesitant knock on her door. Frowning, she made her way towards the source of the sound. Victoria opened the door to see an almost scared Draco standing awkwardly in the corridor.

"Since when do you knock on this door?" She asked, raising a well-shaped brow at him.

He gulped hard before storming in her room and sitting on her ottoman. "Do you love me?"

She sat on the cushioned chair near her vanity and crossed her legs. "What'd you want, Malfoy?

He knew his request was doomed when she called him by their common last name, but asked anyway, "Would you like to go to Hogwarts one last year and pass our N.E. ?"

"What the bloody f—?"

"Language, young lady!" Her father warned from his portrait in the study.

"Sorry father," she apologised. "What hatred would compel you to ask me such a thing?"

He filled her in on the morning's events: the meeting with Middleton, the plan he had in mind, and finally, Edmund's dare. She lost it, then.

"You did WHAT?!" Victoria bellowed, making Draco wonder if she was related to Bellatrix in any way.

"He does have a point," he objected raising his hands protectively. "We should just perform our N.E. so that we can work later and—"

"I _do not_ want to work! The deal was always that after seven years at Hogwarts, I got to live in peace. I have my inheritance and I'll probably marry rich, why break tradition?" She asked, approaching him slowly, threateningly. "Because you roped yourself into some kind of wicked game with the old Zabini?!" She ended her furious seething by pulling out her ash wand and pointing it at him.

"He-He-Hey, stop that, you're not seventeen yet!" He stammered, poking his vest for his mother's wand.

"So what?" She asked, voice terrifyingly soft. "Are they going to expel me? Oh, bother… **"**

"They'll also break the wand you're pointing at me," he murmured, as she pressed the tip of said-wand against his Adam's apple.

She pursed her lips and retracted her hand slowly. "Why did you want to sabotage her interview, anyway?"

"Because it made sense. For old times' sake… Not to mention I would have hated to see her each time I visited Blaise," he stated casually, still eyeing her wand.

"You're acting like you still go there regularly. The last time you've been there, aside from today, was three months ago." Victoria demanded, placing her hands on her hips. "Why did you do that?"

"I uh… Listen, do you promise not to tell anyone?" He asked, lowering his head.

She nodded. "Do you not know to trust me, by now? Now speak, from the very beginning, I want to know everything."

He sat back on the ottoman and she sat opposite him, on her bed. "Well you remember that final battle, right? Well at one moment I was outnumbered by Death Eaters, and—"

She interrupted him. "I thought you were on the Dark side?"

He glared at her before saying, "Don't interrupt me again, and I just realised that Voldemort was doomed, so Blaise and I started fighting Death Eaters. Any last questions?"

"Not a question but when I say to tell me from the start, you'd better tell me the bloody start. Go on." She faced him, her head on her right hand and her elbow on the bed.

He sighed. "All right, so we were fighting and one of them Stunned Blaise, leaving me alone against two Death Eaters when she came and practically saved my life—" She raised her left hand, asking for permission to speak. "Yes?"

"No surprise, there. You were always the lesser fighter."

A scowl played at the edges of his lips before he continued. "Well, whenever I ask her why she saved me, she never truly answers which I found annoying and I went to sabotage her interview…"

She took his silence as an opportunity to speak. "And condemn me to go back to that school with zero freedom, thanks a lot. You're the best!" Victoria interjected her tone overly sarcastic.

His dawning scowl dropped. "I apologise, I don't want to go there either. I'm the traitor, remember? The one who was there when Dumbledore died, the one who brought Death Eaters into Hogwarts."

"It's not like it's undeserved," she muttered, earning a glare. "You dragged me down with you; you are not immune to this kind of remark from me!"

"All right, all right… So say, how are we going to enrol again if they don't send us the letters?"

"Don't you know Zabini by now?" She asked sarcastically and he frowned. "He must be owling McGonagall at this exact moment, the man is probably extra worried about our education now that you went to him and tried to be a smartass."

"Language, Victoria," Draco sighed.

"Is your name Marcus?" She asked.

"No..?" He said unsure.

"Then shut the hell up!" She exclaimed.

He scoffed and stood up on his way out, but she spoke again.

"Hey I think it's the Triwizard Tournament, this year!"

He turned to her abruptly. "The what?!"

"The Triwizard Tournament, you know dangerous, deadly, fame and stuff…" She trailed off casually.

"It's this year?" He ascertained.

She nodded. "Positive, I read about it in the _Prophet_ about a fortnight ago."

"Mother is going to lose her head, there's no way she's going to let us go." Draco sighed.

"I'll talk to her, don't worry." She assured him.

"Thanks Vicky," he flopped down on the ottoman again, having stood up when he exclaimed about the Tournament.

With that, she ushered him out of the room. She went back to her bathroom and stared at her reflection in the full-length mirror. She was wearing wide, white, linen shorts, and a dark grey tank top. Not the best outfit to talk to her aunt about such a sensitive topic. The messy golden bun was not the right hairdo, either. Victoria took a bath. If she was going to speak to her aunt, her hair had better be straight again instead of looking like oddly squished brass wires, tousled from the hair tie. The Slytherin Chaser then put on a white sundress. She wore her hair in a neat French braid with help from a house elf she had summoned; and then she put on just enough makeup to give herself the subtle glow of a porcelain doll. Victoria then asked the elf where Narcissa was and followed her directions to the drawing room. She knocked on the thick wooden door and heard her aunt's breath of a voice.

"Come in. **"**

"Hello, Aunt Cissy," she murmured as she walked in. "How are you, today?"

"Quite alright, thank you dear," she replied sweetly, pulling the needle on a new stitch of her embroidery.

"There is… Something I'd like to ask you, more like a request," she began as she sat down on an armchair, facing her aunt.

"What is it?" Narcissa asked sternly, looking up.

"You see, Draco and I are really concerned about our futures. Without our N.E. , we will never be able to have apply for proper work, and we will always be looked down on, especially with most of our inheritance taken by the Ministry, following the war… So what I ask of you is to let us go back to Hogwarts for this year, for our seventh year in order to take our N.E. .," she declared in one breath, leaving out the anticipation that threatened to make her panic.

"I expect there is a 'but', isn't there?" She asked suspiciously, lifting one eyebrow.

"But," Victoria sighed, emphasising the word. "This year, there is going to be the Triwizard Tournament, therefore I ask you not to worry about us—"

"No, no you will not attend." She hissed, standing up "I forbid it."

"Please, Aunt Cissy, I promise I will not put my name in the Goblet and I will see that he doesn't either I'll even Stun him for that!" she begged, holding Narcissa's shaky hand.

Narcissa sat back down with a huff. "It's dangerous; you children have no idea how… You know what happened to my fool of a brother, thirty years ago; he signed up for this death trap of a game. He craved the fame and glory of the winner, but in the end… In the end he…" The words died in her throat as she looked down at her embroidery on her lap. It looked suspiciously like the Rosier coat of arms.

Victoria walked over to her, knelt before her, and put her hands on her aunt's before murmuring soothingly, "Aunt Cissy, we know how much pain that put you through, we realise how averse you feel toward the Tournament, and we'd die before causing you any more harm than what you've already experienced.

"All we're interested in is our studies, our futures… If we do not find proper jobs, we will soon decrease in wealth; our inheritance is not nearly enough to satisfy our lifestyle… You wouldn't want to sell this house, would you?" She finished indulgently.

Narcissa looked away. "Fine. But I will disown any of you who put your names in that cursed Goblet. This is my only warning."

"And you'd be right to do so," Victoria agreed, standing back up. "Please don't worry about us, we will do our best to be the safest possible."

"I hope so," she murmured almost absently, getting back to her work.

"Your embroidery looks lovely, by the way." Victoria stood up and left the drawing room.

Victoria gently closed the door and walked towards her cousin's room. She let herself in without knocking, making him look up at her expectantly.

"We can go but I have the liberty of Stunning you if you try to put your name in the Goblet of Fire," she declared, regarding him haughtily from where he lay in bed.

"Remember, that's only in case I try to put my name in," he warned, half-joking.

"Whatever. You owe me twice over, that's all that matters."


	4. Chapter Four

**Chapter Four:**

 **Two Months Later**

Magdalene was back in Diagon Alley with her list of Hogwarts supplies in one hand and her cat, Shyvana, sitting in her cauldron in the other. She cursed under her breath for the umpteenth time, swearing to herself to make that leech of a boy pay for it. Not only did he dare go to her potential employer's house to ruin her interview, but he ended up taking her and his cousin down with him. _This won't go unpunished_ , she stated in her mind as she made her way towards Ollivander's to, as she did every year, make him check her wand. The brass bell rang as she opened the door to the renovated store. She could not help but remember the first time she had entered that shop.

 _She was in awe. She had never thought, in her eleven years, that such wonders existed. Her parents were just as awestruck as she was, and they asked multiple questions to their guide: a most peculiar man, roughly Maggie's height and who spoke in a squeaky voice. His name, Magdalene would later remember, was Filius Flitwick._

 _"Ah, now, the most important part!" Flitwick squeaked, making everyone jump. "The wand! And the best place for that has always been Ollivander's…"_

 _Professor Flitwick rambled on about the history of Ollivander's wand shop, which captivated her parents, but she was too busy marvelling at the visuals to pay him any heed. The shop smelled of old parchment and broomsticks—although the latter scent was still unfamiliar to her. Professor Flitwick had enthusiastically explained to her the rudiments of Quidditch, when they had first read the whole of the letter. Mr. Ollivander smiled down at Flitwick as the four of them penetrated the shop._

 _"Good to see you, Professor. Muggle-Born?" He inquired, tilting his head towards Magdalene, who was too busy looking at all the shelves and what they contained to notice._

 _"Most certainly, Mr. Ollivander! Come, Magdalene, now you're going to have to get measured for your wand. Come on; let's see what your wand is going to look like."_

 _Magdalene was measured and asked a couple of questions before Ollivander started pulling wands out of the shelves behind the front desk. Half a dozen wands later, Ollivander took almost a minute in staring at her, as though debating whether he ought to do what he had in mind or not. Finally, after forty-five seconds of agonising silence, he whooshed to the bottom of the aisle and crouched down to retrieve a rather long box, compared with the other ones she had tried. Even as he approached the quartet, he seemed hesitant._

 _He pulled out a wand and meant to extend it towards Maggie but he retrieved his arm before she could reach for it. "You must understand, Miss Middleton that I am reluctant to give you this wand to try out." He informed her._

 _She looked up, squinting with a mixture of suspicion and curiosity. "Why?"_

 _Mr. Ollivander pursed his lips and gave her the wand. As she took hold of it, she felt a warmth erupt from within the wand, extending from her hand to her arm, and spreading throughout the rest of her body. A light breeze ruffled her hair against her face, despite the weather being hot and still. She glanced back up at Ollivander who had a mixture of wonder and disappointment plastered all over his face. He took back the wand, and placed it back into the box gently, as though it might explode._

 _"Can't I have that one, Sir?"_

 _"I'm afraid this wand might be too demanding, Miss. You see, this wand is made of sycamore wood and a Phoenix feather core. These two, individually, are already a handful, but together, they constitute a hazard." He paced up and down the aisles, probably looking for a better fit while toying with the box between his fingers. "_ _The sycamore makes a questing wand, eager for new experience and losing brilliance if engaged in mundane activities. This is not the kind of wand that accepts to be treated as a third arm, and it will show this. If this wand is used in mundane ways for too long, it will burst into flames. The wand always chooses the wizard, Miss Middleton. Moreover, this wand wood chooses an owner who is vital, curious, and adventurous. When this wand and the right owner pair up, wonders will never cease. It will demonstrate a capacity to learn and adapt that earns it a rightful place among the world's most highly-prized wand woods." With a defeated sigh, he made his way back towards the Middletons and Professor Flitwick._

 _"So this wand gets bored easily? It won't make coffee or do some of the simple Charms that Professor Flitwick showed me?" Magdalene inquired a hint of disappointment._

 _"Oh, it will… But if this becomes its primary purpose, then I'm afraid you'll have to come back to me for a new wand…"_

 _"What about the Phoenix feather? What does it do?" Magdalene asked, as her father took a seat on the chair next to her, and her mother stepped close behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder._

 _"The Phoenix feather is the rarest of wand cores. You must understand that each wand has a magical animal part inside. Unicorn hair and dragon heartstring are commonly used. And then, there comes the Phoenix feather." He began, but was interrupted by her gasp._

 _"Unicorns and dragons exist?" She marvelled, more to herself than for anyone's interest._

 _"They are, yes. But not to worry, no dragons are allowed anywhere near Hogwarts." Professor Flitwick added the latter part in order to quell the worry that had taken over the parents' features._

 _Ollivander quickly hid his irritation at the interruption and continued. "Phoenix feathers are capable of the greatest range of magic, though they may take longer than either unicorn or dragon cores to reveal this. They show the most initiative, sometimes acting of their own accord, a quality that many witches and wizards dislike. Phoenix feather wands are always the fussiest when it comes to potential owners, for the creature from which they are taken is one of the most independent and detached in the world. These wands are the hardest to tame and to personalise, and their allegiance is usually hard won."_

 _"Will that mean that I'm going to have more difficulties than someone with a Unicorn hair wand?" Magdalene worried, biting her bottom lip._

 _"No. However, this wand puts pressure on you to accomplish great things, Miss Middleton. Great things indeed. I suggest you came back next year, when you're next in Diagon Alley, for me to see if the wand is truly adequate or if it is a mere fluke."_

And she did. She went back to Ollivander's every year since, making sure that her wand was nowhere near bursting into flames. Ollivander had been quite intrigued to know that she had been sorted into Slytherin, but she thought nothing of it. That day, there was already a client and Magdalene would recognise that mass of dirty blonde hair anywhere.

"Good morning, Luna. Mr. Ollivander," she greeted, nodding at the old man.

"Oh, good morning Maggie," Luna greeted her softly. "You're coming back to Hogwarts for your N.E. ?"

"Yep!" She confirmed, making the 'p' pop.

"Did you lose your wand?" She inquired with a tilt of her head.

Mr. Ollivander beat Magdalene at answering. "No, it would never happen to little Miss Middleton, right here. Each start of year, she comes to my store to make me check her wand. She is very careful with it; the wand's allegiance to her is unbreakable as I tell her each year."

"Thank you for believing in me, the first time I came here. It has proven a stronger ally than I could have dreamed of," she said and leaned back on the counter. "What about you, Luna? Any wand problems?"

"No, it's just that the new one doesn't work like my first wand, I need to test other wands. Wand lore seems like a fascinating subject," she murmured as she examined the wand that she had in hand.

"I think so too, maybe I'll open a Middleton's," Magdalene mused, "it would be the most gratifying work that exists, seeing all those fascinated eleven year olds trying out their first wands…"

"I think so too," she muttered distractedly before flicking a new wand, making a clumsy Patronus of what might have looked like a bunny appear.

"Not this one, then?" Ollivander asked as he put down Magdalene's wand on the counter.

Just then, the bell rang and three blond heads entered: a young man, a young woman, and a middle-aged woman. All of them were wearing chic, expensive clothing. Magdalene recognised them as the Malfoys, minus the father. She would have liked to express her discontent to the Malfoy son but his mother had always intimidated her, and his cousin might just tear out her throat or worse. She turned to Luna for them not to see her face.

"Mrs. Malfoy, what a pleasant surprise!" Ollivander greeted them, abandoning his search for a potential wand for the blonde Ravenclaw. "How can I help you?"

Draco got closer to the counter and spoke before his mother. "I need a wand, Mr. Ollivander."

"Do you, boy?" He muttered without further questioning it.

"Similar to my first one in shape, if possible." His voice sounded strained.

"Of course, of course let me just…" he trailed off, disappearing behind newly stocked shelves.

"Hey, Loony," Victoria chimed smugly, "wand problems?"

"Oh, not as big as Draco's but, yes," she absentmindedly replied, unaware of Malfoy's sarcasm.

"Isn't this dear Middleton, though?" She teased, poking the girl's shoulder.

Maggie readied her forced smile and turned around —Narcissa was probably waiting for them outside— "Hello, Victoria," she said sweetly, "how are you by this oh-so good morning?"

"Feeling just as murderous as you must be," she fumed, earning a sneer from the boy.

Magdalene raised an eyebrow at Draco before speaking to Victoria. "I see he's told you what his smart mouth brought on us."

"Oh, yes," she ranted, "I nearly killed him."

"We've got business to attend to, Victoria, if you don't mind." Draco narrowed his eyes at his cousin

"So what?" She shrugged, earning a glare. "Don't you glare at me, Draco Malfoy, I can use magic at Hogwarts and you won't like what you'll see."

He merely blinked at her. "Really? What's the worst that you can do? Stun me to death?"

"I can try," she persisted with a decisive nod.

"Will you try these, sir?" Ollivander interrupted them, putting five long rectangular boxes on the counter.

Draco tried wand after wand and then examined every single one closely before lifting up the shortest.

"What is this made of?" Draco asked.

"Hawthorn and Dragon heartstring, sir."

"How long does it take to make a wand?" Maggie interjected, making all eyes turn to her.

"About three weeks, Miss," he responded.

"Make a wand identical to his first and send it to Hogwarts, he'll try both and send the less effective back to you, if that's all right with you," she requested.

Ollivander nodded slowly. "This might work, though I'll need to find a good enough unicorn for the hair. And I do believe the tree I got the wood from is still standing…" he trailed off, putting away the four other wands.

"How do you know so much about wands?" Victoria asked, while Draco fished for Galleons in his robes.

"I took wand lore in sixth year," Magdalene explained. "Is my wand all right, sir?"

"Of course, of course young lady. You may have it back."

"Thanks, I'm rather late; in fact I should be going." She grabbed her wand. "Later, Luna. I'll see you next year, Mr. Ollivander." She turned to the other two and nodded "Malfoys."

"Later, Middleton," Victoria nodded her farewell.

She exited the shop and continued her shopping while the Malfoys went to look for new cloaks. Victoria, as usual, was easy to satisfy. Draco, on the other hand, acted like Draco Malfoy.

"This cloak is too wide," he complained, widening his arms like a bat.

"For heaven's sake, Draco, it's a cloak!" Victoria whined.

"A cloak that makes me look half-giant," he reiterated.

"Don't be such a baby, come on we'll miss the train now!" She hissed menacingly.

He ignored her pointedly. "It's only nine forty-five."

"We still have to go to Flourish & Blotts' and get potions supplies, you insufferable—!"

"Language," the warning came from both mother and son.

"Sorry, Aunt Cissy, but you'll be okay with me saying that he's making a fuss out of nothing." she stated matter-of-factly.

"As much as I hate to admit it, you are being insufferable today, Draco." Narcissa remarked, a half-apologetic glint in her eyes.

He pressed his lips together. "Fine, these are fine, then," he surrendered.

"Thank Merlin it's over!" Victoria gloated on their way out, earning a glare from Draco.

The rest of the morning went without further events, and the three Malfoys arrived at the platform at ten minutes to eleven. Draco scanned the crowd, looking for Blaise or Pansy, while Victoria looked for Daphne and Theo. When the time came to embark, and neither had found their peers, they settled on saying their farewells to Narcissa.

Narcissa took Victoria aside. "Be safe, all right? And please, be there for Draco. He will never admit it, but he needs all the support he can get."

"I will, Aunt Cissy," Victoria murmured, out of Draco's earshot.

Narcissa placed a hand on her niece's left cheek. "I'm going to miss you so much."

"We'll miss you even more," she replied before kissing the top of her head. "Try and visit Andromeda, please… You only have each other now, and there's no reason to hold on to that old quarrel. Not to mention that if Uncle Lucius's trial goes wrong, you'll have somewhere to go if they decide to seize the Manor."

Narcissa studied her niece before giving her a slow nod and a hug. She then approached her son with nearly the same instructions she had just given to Victoria.

"I love you," he whispered finally.

"I love you too, I love you both," she murmured. "Go now, you don't want to be late."

Draco held out his arm for Victoria. "It's now or never, if you want to back out," he challenged.

She grabbed the crease of his elbow determinedly. "You wish," she retorted.

They hop into the train, Draco leading the way, looking for familiar faces. They end up settling on a seemingly empty compartment.

"Where do you think Blaise is?" Victoria asked.

Before Draco could answer, and as she sat down, a black cat hissed at the both of them, making Victoria give out a squeak and Draco curse under his breath. That cat, they recognised to be Magdalene's, since it had spent most of its life in the Slytherin common room.

"What the bloody hell is this fleabag doing here?!" Victoria snapped, making the cat leave the compartment.

Draco raised an eyebrow. "I thought you were the pacifist one?"

"Not when a cat surprises my behind, thank you very much," she protested, dusting her white trousers of cat hair. Hearing a snort, she glared at Draco, "Help me, instead of mocking me, you useless twat!"

Just as he pulled out his wand, the compartment opened to reveal Blaise and Magdalene coming in, their arms charged with sweets. They stopped abruptly, making a liquorice wand and two Chocolate Frog boxes fall on the floor. For the Malfoys, that was a sight to behold: Blaise Zabini, the most poised and aristocratic Slytherin in their year, joking around with the Muggle-Born who was the most out-of-place in their common room, _their arms overflowing with candy and the trace of laughter still on their faces._ The latter pair was just as shocked to witness the Malfoys in their compartment, Victoria displaying her backside to Draco who had his wand out.

"Well… This could have gone much better." Blaise stated, taking a seat near the window, facing Draco, and unloading his arms to his right.

"Where's Shyvana?" Magdalene asked, looking around for her cat.

"Your fleabag almost ruined my designer robes. This vest is cashmere, Middleton, if I see one black hair on it, you'll have to reimburse it," Victoria thundered, pulling out her own wand and attempting to _Scrougify_ her trousers.

Maggie raised her eyebrows at the statement and dropped her load atop Blaise's, in the middle of the seat. She then tiptoed to retrieve her trunk and shouldered her bag.

"What exactly are you doing?" Blaise asked, glaring at Draco's disapproving look.

"I'm going to look for Shyvana." She stated simply, struggling to lift her trunk.

"And you need your luggage because..?" He trailed off, standing up.

"Because I'm going to settle wherever my cat went."

"And why is that?" Victoria demanded, sitting next to Draco and helping herself to a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans.

"Because it is easier to leave than to kick intruders out of the compartment that _I_ found." Magdalene snapped bitterly.

"You'll do no such thing, Maggie." Blaise stated calmly.

"Maggie?" Both Malfoys repeated, flummoxed.

"Magdalene found the compartment, invited me to stay with her, and suggested that we caught up with the trolley lady to have a sweet feast. We were on our way back when you lot started complaining about cat hair and cashmere."

Blaise had never sounded so… emotional. The Zabini heir was always composed and passive, and this was uncharacteristic behaviour. He turned to Maggie, who was still trying to fit her trunk out the partially opened door and levitated the trunk out of her grasp and back into the compartment. She glared at him and he gave her a stern look, which made her sit down opposite Victoria, who looked completely unbothered, albeit confused by the situation. Draco hid his shock well, but questioned Blaise with his squinting eyes.

"Your cat will come back, it always does," Blaise murmured reassuringly as he handed her a Chocolate Frog.

"You owe me, Zabini." She pouted, but still accepted the sweet that she began munching on, like an upset toddler.

Blaise stifled a snort as he turned to Draco. "What?"

"Since when are you two so cosy with one another?" Victoria spoke the words out of Draco's mind.

"Since… third year, was it?" Blaise frowned at Magdalene when she ignored him. He tsk'ed and nodded at the blond pair. "Yes, since third year."

"And you never thought to mention it?" Draco spat bitterly, folding his arms over his chest.

"Don't be so bitter, Draco, here have a liquorice wand," Victoria cooed mockingly, dangling a wand under his nose.

Blaise snorted in amusement, knowing that Draco would die before he brought a liquorice wand anywhere near his taste buds again. It had become common knowledge one night, when they were seven that Draco and liquorice never matched.

 **October 31st, 1987**

 _Blaise had always loved visiting his paternal grandfather, if for nothing else than he knew he'd always be welcome at the Zabini manor despite what his mother had most certainly done to his father. That year, young Blaise had managed to convince his grandfather to invite his friends over for Halloween, and so it was that the Malfoys, the Greengrass girls, Theodore Nott, and Pansy Parkinson were running around the Zabini estate, collecting as much sweets as they could. Since the estate was nowhere near having neighbours, the sweets had been hidden in the maze-like gardens by the house elves. With the last piece of candy in tow, they all retreated to Blaise's room to compare and swap their findings._

 _"Hey, I have an idea!" Theo exclaimed as he removed a grass blade from yet another pack of Every Flavour Beans. "How about we put together all of our beans with weird colours, like grey, and stuff, and we dare each other to eat one?"_

 _"But that would be stupid and disgusting," Victoria remarked, opening a Chocolate Frog. "I got Merlin again, who wants to swap?"_

 _"Me!" Astoria Greengrass chimed, "I got Salazar Slytherin again, I've got six of him already."_

 _"Done! I almost got all four founders, I'm only missing—"_

 _Draco interrupted her. "What do we win if we can eat every weird bean we get?"_

 _Theo pondered for a moment before his eyes snapped back to reality. "If you can't swallow it whole, you have to put one of your sweets in the middle, and if you can, you can take whichever one you want from the middle until we finish them."_

 _And so the game began. Victoria and Daphne suffered the most losses, while Draco and Theo displayed their winnings proudly. The game went on until only two identical beans remained. They were black, glistening with challenge._

 _Theodore and Draco never left each other's eyes as each one lifted a bean. "What'd you think?" Draco smirked. "I'd say sewer."_

 _"Rat fur." Theo challenged._

 _"Three… Two… One… EAT!" The onlookers did the countdown and were astonished to see opposing reactions._

 _Theo looked as though he thoroughly enjoyed the taste. Draco, on the other hand, was all but scraping his tongue and nearly crying with disgust._

 _"What did he get? Was it sewer?"_

 _"No, it was clearly rat's fur, look at his face!"_

 _Blaise took one of the empty boxes and read the taste guide. After scanning the paper briefly, he roared with laughter. Piqued by curiosity, Victoria tore the paper from his hand, and soon joined him, and they were both in tears by the time everyone learned that Draco had made a fool of himself for a liquorice-flavoured bean. Theo claimed that that had always been his sweetest victory, and Draco would resent anyone who brought back that memory._

 **September 1st, 1998**

Blaise smirked at the memory before replying to Draco's last question. "Had I mentioned it, you would have forfeited a lifetime of friendship over petty prejudices."

Draco fumed in his corner, slouching in his seat and watching the landscapes fly by as the train sped to Scotland. Victoria noticed that tension that threatened to settle and quickly thought of an idea.

"Blaise," she spoke. He turned to her and noticed the gleam of mischief in her eyes. "Want to play with beans?"

Blaise's smirk grew into a wide grin. "Only if you manage to get Draco to play."

The latter huffed, and Magdalene seemed suddenly interested. "How'd you play with beans?"

"We put all the suspicious-looking ones in the middle and take turns eating them. If we can't swallow them whole, we have to relinquish one of our sweets, and if we can, we get to take one of the losses. It's a game full of stories, and a good way to bond." Blaise added the last fact eyeing Draco meaningfully.

"Draco, how about you played with us?" Victoria suggested mock-innocently.

He raised an eyebrow at her as though meaning to say "Really?" and turned back to the window.

"Malfoy is too scared to play," Magdalene stated, as she opened a pack of beans and selected those for the game.

"Do you genuinely believe that this is going to work on me? You can challenge a Gryffindor that way, not me." He huffed.

"Of course, because _you're_ much better, moping like a child." Magdalene mused.

The three willing players took turns playing, Victoria relinquishing one good bean when she found herself eating an earwax-flavoured horror, and when Draco's turn came, everyone turned to him expectantly.

"What?" He hissed.

"Come on, don't be such a prick," Victoria encouraged, handing him a white bean.

Draco eyed the bean suspiciously before surrendering and tearing it from Victoria's hand. He chewed it tentatively before nodding. "Vanilla."

"Now was that so hard?" Blaise teased.

"Sod off."

And so, the unlikely friends played on until they arrived at Hogwarts, and the group split into two once they left the train.

* * *

 **A/N: About the wand stuff that Ollivander said in the first flashback, I took the information from my own wand in Pottermore, and some sentences I copied verbatim. So, yeah, I hope you enjoyed the long chapter.**


	5. Chapter Five

**Chapter Five:**

The train arrived at its destination at nightfall, as usual. Magdalene found her cat waiting for her on the platform. They followed Blaise to the carriages and found one waiting for them. Unsurprisingly, they could also see the Thestral pulling the carriage.

Magdalene's eyes widened. "What in the name of Salazar is that?"

"That's a Thestral." A familiar voice chimed in. Luna approached them, and then went to _pet_ the _beast_.

"Um excuse me, but aren't they supposed to be dangerous?" Magdalene asked, trying to keep her composure.

"No. They're feared because only people who have seen death can see them. But they're harmless, otherwise." Luna explained as she fed the Thestral a slice of raw meat.

Magdalene eyed the pair suspiciously. " _Right_. I'm hungry, though, so let's head to Hogwarts."

Blaise suppressed a grin at Magdalene's nervousness and hopped into the carriage. They waited for five minutes until the last students, who happened to be Theodore Nott and Daphne Greengrass, joined them. The conversations during the ride happened between Magdalene and Luna, and Blaise with his two childhood friends. They split with Luna when they got to the Great Hall and found empty spots on the Slytherin benches, not far from the Malfoys, who stayed at the back, away from the rest.

The Deputy Headmaster, Professor Slughorn, took the responsibility of the Sorting Ceremony, thus welcoming six new Slytherin students, ten Gryffindors, nine Ravenclaws, and fifteen Hufflepuffs. Theo made a snide remark about the high number of Hufflepuffs, making anyone within earshot roll their eyes. He grinned widely nonetheless, proud of his wit. As Professor Slughorn then announced, Hermione Granger was then named Head Girl, and, to his surprise, Blaise Zabini was named Head Boy.

"Why are you so surprised?" Magdalene asked, after the cheers died down at the Slytherin table.

"It should be Draco, he's always behind Granger and I'm always behind him, in our studies." Blaise murmured, eyeing Draco over Maggie's head.

"Maybe he declined the offer?" Magdalene offered, unsure.

Blaise pursed his lips and nodded stiffly. "Maybe… I'll have to ask him."

Magdalene nodded and turned to the front of the room to find Professor McGonagall, the new Headmistress, giving a speech.

"And now, the master of ceremony and previous winner of the Triwizard Tournament is going to tell all the newcomers about the Tournament."

Just then, Harry Potter walked from Gryffindor table to stand next to McGonagall. Cheers erupted from Gryffindor table. He introduced the Triwizard Tournament in quite the same way as Dumbledore had, years ago, and he told the students about the same age restriction. A plan began forming in Magdalene's head, which would help her financially once she was out of Hogwarts. She had zoned out, her gaze trained on Potter, when she felt a nudge on her right arm. She turned to see Theo, leaning down to whisper to her.

"We need to have a talk before going back to the common room."

"Will you explain to me why you've been acting weirdly since I got back to Hogwarts last year?" She asked challengingly.

He swallowed hard. "Something like that."

Theodore Nott had a secret, one he was hoping to keep for as long as he could. Ever since receiving an owl from his father upon Middleton's return to Hogwarts in the year that had Snape as headmaster. It was January 1998 and Hogwarts had never felt so unwelcoming. Theo, though he tried to hide it, had never wanted to be farther away from the castle. He had been at the breakfast table, Slytherin table being the fullest of all four, just like the Slytherin hourglass. Anything was an opportunity to dock points from Gryffindor, mostly. Suddenly, a dark-feathered owl swooped right over Slytherin table and dropped a folded piece of parchment destined for Theo. He opened it, and upon reading its contents, his life changed. What was written about Magdalene Middleton made him treat her differently.

 _As Filch singlehandedly led all of Slytherin House to the dungeons, Theodore kept his eyes trained on Middleton's back. He never broke eye contact with her dark hair until he felt a smaller hand slip into his, and he looked to his right at Nancy Burke, his 6th year on and off girlfriend, who looked terrified. He squeezed her hand once and looked back up only to find that Middleton had disappeared. His head whipped left, right, and back. She was nowhere to be seen, and a lump had begun to form in Theodore's throat._

 _He spent their entire forty-five minutes of being locked looking for her without arousing suspicion among his housemates, but to no avail. When the gate of their cell blew up, he wasted no time in running out, leaving Nancy with her friends to deal with her. He had to find her._

 _He dodged spells and hexes and just as he tried looking in the greenhouses, he collided violently with the most familiar person he could: Draco Malfoy. And he just so happened to be with Magdalene Middleton._

 _"What's going on with you lot?" Theo asked, panting._

 _"What's it look like?" Middleton retorted, already meaning to escape their company._

 _"We're going to check on Blaise, he was Stunned before we had time to run away." Draco explained, and the three of them marched towards the corridor in which Blaise was still unconscious._

 _Magdalene ran towards Zabini and knelt at his side, hyperventilating. She fussed over his pulse and breathing, and Theo would never be able to place the feeling that knotted his stomach at the sight. He knelt beside her and pulled out her wand._

 _"Rennervate!"_

 _"What the bloody hell happened?" Blaise sputtered, blinking several times before rubbing his eyelids hard._

 _"You got Stunned." Magdalene declared simply. She fixed the collar of his white shirt and the knot of his tie._

 _"Oh. Okay." He replied sheepishly._

 _"Come on; let's get you out of here." Magdalene helped Zabini up._

 _"We all need out," Theo remarked, eyeing Magdalene meaningfully._

 _"I need to find Victoria," Draco spoke urgently, "we need to get to Zabini Manor, it's the only place where we'll be safe, we need to find them all and take them there."_

 _"And I'm the only one who can get you through the wards."_

 _"I'll help you—"_

 _Theo interrupted Middleton's volunteering. "No, you need to leave. You're Muggle-Born, they'll let you out easier than us, we need to find Slughorn to be able to leave."_

 _"I need to find him too, not everyone knows I'm Muggle-Born—"_

 _Theodore's temper got the better of him and he grabbed her roughly by the arm. He dragged her off to the seventh floor where they found Ginny Weasley and Tonks, the Auror._

 _"She needs to get out of here." He announced, finally releasing the struggling teen._

 _"Why? Afraid her relatives might find her?" Weasley sneered, eyeing Magdalene distastefully._

 _"She's Muggle-Born, you little—"_

 _"Hey, cool it, you two. Okay, we'll take her to Aberforth." Tonks pacified, opening the closet she had just come out from. "Climb through the portrait and continue until the end, you'll meet Aberforth Dumbledore."_

 _"I need—"_

 _"For Salazar's sake, Middleton, just get the hell out of here!" Theo bellowed, making Tonks raise an eyebrow._

 _"I want an explanation, Nott." She said decisively before surrendering and penetrating the Room of Requirement._

Even then, Theo knew that the explanation would take months, if not years, to come. How could he possibly tell Middleton about the contents of that letter? He took Middleton aside.

"You don't know everything about your ancestry."

"Could you be any more vague?" She asked sarcastically.

"Just don't think you know everything about your parents." He hissed, his breathing hitting her face.

The mention of his parents made her face light up with grief. "Don't talk about my parents, ever again." She hissed venomously, earning her green tie stereotype.

His features softened, just like his grip on her arm. "I'm sorry… I… I know what happened, I just… There's stuff that you need to know, and your mum didn't have time to tell you."

"How would you know the first thing about my mum and what she needed to tell me?" Magdalene hissed, holding his gaze.

"I know more than you, and more than you can even imagine. Just be careful whom you meddle with." Theodore warned before stomping to his dormitory.

Meanwhile, Victoria stuck to Draco who had been earning glares ever since they had gotten inside the castle. She knew that everyone secretly despised him for her uncle's actions, and what Draco had been forced to do for the Death Eaters and the Dark Lord himself. At some point, they walked into Goyle, but even he, their childhood friend, was acting odd toward Draco. A glare from Victoria made him flee their company as the blonde sympathetically tightened her grip on her cousin's arm. She looked up at him as he glared into space, his expression overly mysterious. She frowned but decided to let him sleep on it before asking her questions, she knew not to overwhelm him with questions. He said the password to the Slytherin common room, and got inside still holding his cousin's hand tightly to his chest.

"Can I ask you something?" She asked nonetheless.

He gave her a tired look. "Can it wait until tomorrow?"

She gave it a thought as other Slytherins squeezed past her. "I guess most of it can," she muttered finally.

He smirked feebly. "Most?" He repeated.

"I actually have a scheme of questions for you, but one of them can't wait until tomorrow. Can I?" She asked, giving him a rare toothy grin.

He chuckled. "Of course"

She cleared her throat. "Are you okay?"

His slight grin disappeared for confusion to settle. "Of course I am, why would you ask?"

"I have eyes, Draco. I see how everyone is looking at you," she murmured, putting a hand over his arm.

He eyed her hand curiously; she almost never made physical contact. "And may I know how they're looking at me?"

She noticed his glance and withdrew her hand before muttering almost silently, "They're looking at you like you're the Dark Lord…"

To her greatest surprise, he snorted. "That's it? The contrary would have surprised me greatly, Vicky. I've been preparing for this the entire summer, it doesn't bother me the tiniest bit, I swear," he reassured her, putting both hands on her slumped shoulders, a peaceful smile on his face. "Will you stop worrying so much, now?"

She shrugged his hands off her and straightened her composure before draining her face of emotion. "Who said I was worrying? I'm just curious, don't overestimate yourself," she walked away from him toward the girls' dormitory.

He smiled and muttered, "So very true, Miss Malfoy," before going to the boys' dormitory himself.


	6. Chapter Six

**Chapter Six:**

 **One Month Later**

The next few weeks, everybody kept talking about the Tournament and who they thought was going to put in their name, or whose name would come out. That morning, Magdalene sat alone at Slytherin table. It was the first day of October and she had had trouble sleeping ever since coming back to Hogwarts. Consequently, she was always the first Slytherin at the table. That morning, she was spreading butter on toast with Shyvana purring by her side. She was just about to get a first bite when someone tapped on her right shoulder, stopping her in mid-chunk to her great frustration.

"Malfoy." Magdalene greeted, her mouth full.

The blonde grunted in response. "Just hand me some of that," she snatched the bit toast from the aggravated redhead as she was preparing to bite in it again.

Magdalene's mouth gaping, with her hand still placed as if she were holding an invisible toast, learned that Victoria was not a morning person. Not before breakfast, at least, for she started talking after a few mouthfuls of toast and coffee.

"What's in our schedule?" She asked.

"A month in, and you still don't know that we don't have the same specifics. I have wand lore and you have Herbology." Magdalene spoke, unused to being so casual with the female Malfoy.

"Swell," Victoria drawled. "It's today, you know."

"What's today?" Magdalene asked, buttering another toast she was hoping to eat.

"Don't act silly, it doesn't suit you." Victoria scoffed. "The French and the Bulgarians are coming today. And so will the Goblet of Fire."

Magdalene nodded slowly. "All right, what does it have to do with me?"

Victoria raised a doubtful eyebrow. "You need to learn Occlumency, Middleton."

"You used Legilimency on me?!" Magdalene thundered, the butter knife she was holding piercing the innocent toast.

"Taking lessons from your Death Eater relatives, Malfoy?" Michael Corner sneered from Ravenclaw table, where he overheard Magdalene's bellow.

Victoria fought the urge to turn around, but new veins appeared on the back of the hand that held her fork.

"Eavesdropping, Corner?" Magdalene asked as Pansy and Daphne sat on either side of Victoria.

"Don't talk so loudly if you don't wanna be overheard, and I just defended your Muggle-Born arse." He retorted coldly, turning his eyes back to his _Daily Prophet_ as though nothing had happened.

Magdalene looked around for teachers. Satisfied she would not be spotted; she pulled out her wand and sent a wordless spell in his direction. After five minutes of wordless breakfast, the four Slytherins heard a _thud_ from Ravenclaw table and those who weren't facing the sound turned around to watch Corner struggling to get off of the bench. He cast an alarmed glance at the green-clad group of girls, the blonde of whom had a slight smirk.

"You did that!" He sneered.

Magdalene raised her eyebrows and stuck out her bottom lip. "I don't know what you mean."

"What is the meaning of this?" Professor McGonagall asked, noticing the struggling Ravenclaw and the smirking Slytherins.

"Professor, she used a Sticking Charm on me."

"He made rude and unwelcome remarks about my housemate." Magdalene explained calmly as she ran the butter knife over the previously-stabbed toast.

McGonagall pursed her lips as she regarded Corner and then the quiet Slytherins. "I see." She flicked her wand at Corner, who was struggling to reach his wand, which was too far to his right. The momentum of his pull made him fling himself over the table, knocking his cup of juice over in the process.

Magdalene stifled a snort at the sight, but straightened her features as the headmistress turned to look at her. "You won't get points for this, Miss Middleton."

She swallowed. "Yes, Professor."

McGonagall gave one, distasteful glance towards Corner before forging ahead to her seat. Parkinson, who had never felt particularly warmly towards Magdalene, raised her eyebrows with what seemed to be surprise. Victoria's smirk was revived at hearing Corner curse behind her and storm out of the Great Hall, shouldering Draco on his way out. Magdalene cringed at the inevitable confrontation, but Malfoy merely tightened his jaw, earning a new vein on his temple. He sat a little ways from the Slytherin girls, grabbing a cup and drinking.

"Am I supposed to thank you?" Victoria asked, folding her arms over her chest.

"Don't mention it. And stay out of my mind, that'll be enough." Magdalene requested, though it sounded more like instructions.

Victoria gave one nod as she went to join her cousin. Magdalene listened to Pansy and Daphne's small talk as she continued to have breakfast.

Victoria sat to Draco's right and made him turn to face her, so that she could fix his tie.

"I'd like it if you told me before depriving me from breakfast for this," he grunted, rather annoyed.

"You are not going to go about this castle looking like a homeless Muggle," she declared before attacking his hair. "By the way, the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students will be coming tonight."

He nodded absently as Theo came to sit across from them. "I need coffee, where's coffee?"

"Do you mind?" Victoria asked, fuming.

Theo rolled his eyes and left the table for a more welcoming spot. They ate and drank silently for the most part; he then grabbed a muffin and started spreading fig jam on its surface. He was nearly done when Victoria snatched it from him as well and, before he could protest, put a plump yellow apple in front of him. He gave her a disdainful look.

"What?" She objected, "You wouldn't want to get fat, now would you?"

"Would you?" He retorted challengingly, still eyeing his muffin.

She shrugged, taking a generous mouthful, chewing patiently, and swallowing. "It's like you live on another planet, sometimes," she remarked. "You haven't noticed that no matter how I eat this is how I will always look."

"No I haven't, you spend so much time buying new clothes that I started believing that you have weight problems," he sassed, earning an elbow in the ribs, which made him wince.

"How's that for weight problems?" She said emotionlessly.

"What's our first class?" He asked before biting into his apple.

"Herbology," she said, "your favourite."

"Oh yeah," he drawled sarcastically.

"Come on, now. You don't want to be late for your first class, I understand you're so fond of studies and such," she sassed, reminding him whose fault it was that she was at Hogwarts.

"You do like Quidditch," he supplied with a hopeful grin.

"There's the Tournament this year, genius. No Quidditch." She reminded him, regarding her cousin with disdain.

"Oops." His interjection was completely unaffected whatsoever.

That evening, at the feast, McGonagall introduced the two guest schools. Much like in their fourth year, the entrances were laced in theatrics. The Beauxbatons students sat at Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables while their Durmstrang counterparts joined the Ravenclaws and Slytherins. Magdalene noticed Corner trying, and failing, to flirt with an attractive Swedish-looking girl who looked part-Veela. Blaise chose to sit beside Magdalene, with little conversation between them. When Potter, McGonagall, Madame Maxime, and Professor Gregorovitch (the famous wand maker's brother and the replacement for Karkaroff) introduced the Goblet of Fire and the Triwizard Cup (which was the same that Potter had won four years prior), they reminded the Hogwarts students of the age restriction. This was met with heated objections all over again, but McGonagall silenced them and allowed Potter to remind every eligible student that the names would be retrieved from the Goblet a month from then, on Halloween.

Back in the Slytherin common room, and after showing the Durmstrang students to their guest dormitories, Blaise sat at the fireplace near Magdalene. She was playing with Shyvana, who had elected to lie down on her chest.

"How are things, Head Boy?" She teased.

"I'm exhausted. Thank Salazar no one gets to sleep in Crabbe's old bed. It would've been awkward to have someone else in the room instead of him."

"Yeah, it would feel inappropriate." She sympathised, running her forefinger around Shyvana's jaw from her ear.

"Maggie?" His call sounded hesitant.

"Hm?"

"Is it true you want to put your name in the Goblet of Fire?" Blaise asked, making Magdalene stop mid-stroke.

"Where did you hear that?" She asked suspiciously.

"Victoria's right, you need to learn Occlumency."

"Salazar's saggy bollocks, Blaise!" She exclaimed, making a second year boy snort back his tea.

Blaise tried and failed to fight the smile that won over his lips. "This is one I've never heard."

"Don't make me throw the cat at you; you had no right to use Legilimency on me. It's illegal."

"That's not what you told Victoria this morning," he observed, reaching for a book that Magdalene Accio'd out of sheer spite. He scowled.

"I would have had time to tell her if that Corner arse didn't think it ever so _wise_ to interfere." She assured him.

He stood up from his couch and walked over to hers, calmly retrieving the book from her hand, and she giving in with no protest. He let a few minutes stretch in silence, listening to the fire crackle, before drawing in a deep breath.

"Please don't do it."

"If you spent so much time in my mind, you'd know my reasons. The least you could do is to be supportive. We're not even sure it's going to spit out my name." She spoke rapidly, hoping to convince him not to oppose her. He was the only friendship she was sure of, since she had grown distant from Luna.

"Oh, you vant to put your name in ze Goblet?" A Durmstrang student asked, interest lacing his thickly accentuated voice. He sat in the armchair between the couches and facing the fireplace; either completely unaware or uncaring that he had interrupted their conversation. "I am Sven Malkovitch. I come from Bulgaria."

"Never would've guessed," Blaise muttered, taking his book to his dormitory and leaving Magdalene to deal with the tourist on her own.

She decided to play the childish card and lifted up Shyvana. "This is Shyvana and she doesn't like strangers."

With that, she stood up and took her cat to her dormitory, which was thankfully full and admitted no Durmstrang student. She flopped on her bed and rolled her spare Slytherin scarf into a bed for Shyvana, under her own. Parkinson was working on an essay for what Magdalene guessed was Potions while Victoria, whose bed was directly to Magdalene's right, was reading.

"I know that book." She stated, looking at the book cover that showed a house in stormy countryside.

Victoria took a brief glance at the cover of the book she was reading and eyed Middleton suspiciously. "All right?"

"My mother likes it." She stated simply, unbuttoning her cardigan.

"Good for you."

"Isn't your mum a Muggle, Middleton?" Parkinson asked, looking up from her flattened scroll of parchment.

"She is, and so is the book."

Parkinson peered at Victoria over her reading glasses. "Interesting."

"The war is over, Parkinson, get over yourself." Victoria snapped, closing her book noisily and Banishing it with her wand.

Parkinson shrugged. "All I'm saying…" she trailed off, as she got back to her homework.

Magdalene noticed Daphne Greengrass, who was always (along with Tracy Davis) the most pacific presence in the dormitory, was playing with Shyvana. For all the years that Magdalene had owned the cat, she concluded that her pet was an excellent judge of character. If Shyvana liked someone, then the person was good company; end of.

Magdalene shut her curtains and cast a Silencing Charm, but sleep never came. It never did, in Hogwarts, ever since she was forced to come back after that fateful December of 1997.

 _Magdalene's hand was shaking as she struggled to fit the key in the keyhole of the place she had called home until then. Pushing the door, she could swear that creaking had never been there before. She fought back the knots forming in her throat as she made her way to the living room. She shed her Hogwarts cloak on the couch, not caring the least bit that it slid off to the paved floor. Nothing mattered anymore. She went to her room where Shyvana slept peacefully; blissfully unaware of how tragic a turn her mistress's life had taken in the last forty-eight hours._

 _Two days prior, she was on the run from Death Eaters and Snatchers, then working with the Ministry in the Muggle-Born Registration Offices. She had stuck to Dean Thomas, a Gryffindor, and Justin Finch-Fletchley, a Hufflepuff she had had a few pleasant interactions with before the war forced them into hiding. Their only source of news was a clandestine radio channel called Potterwatch, which communicated news on the Potter-side of the war, rather than ratting out Muggle-Borns to Snatchers. That night, the password for the radio was Padfoot, and Justin had just tapped his wand against the radio that the list of names started pouring out of the speaker. All three of them waited, dreaded, in anxious silence for names they recognised._

 _And then it happened._

 _"And lastly, two Muggles named John and Ivy Middleton were found dead in their apartment in Grays, Muggle authorities spoke of heart attacks and poisoning, but the proofs are apparent: They were murdered by Death Eaters, because their daughter is Muggle-Born. Her whereabouts remain unknown—"_

 _A strangled sob tore through her throat as her attention left the radio. She spent the next hour alternating between crying heart-wrenching sobs to ricking back and forth, hugging her knees, trying to convince herself what she had just heard was a trick of her imagination. Dean and Justin knew better than to interfere or try to calm her down. They were fairly confident the wards they had set around their encampment were strong enough that she could let her emotions fly safely._

 _However, they protested when she started gathering her things._

 _"It's too dangerous, they did it to taunt you into coming out, Maggie!" Justin insisted, holding her wand high, out of her reach._

 _"Give me my bloody wand!" She screeched, burning her throat, uncaring of the sob that mixed in with her scream. She jumped, but he was much taller than she was._

 _"They're doing this to round up Muggle-Borns, please understand I'm keeping you here for your safety!"_

 _"He's right; you'd be doing them a favour by returning." Dean reasoned, but she shook her head._

 _"If I don't claim their bodies, they're going to be buried where I can't find them. Or— Or worse, they'll be incinerated and I won't be able to—I have to, you'd do the same if it were your mum, Dean! Please, let me go, I'll be fine on my own!" She gave up resisting his grip on her arm and threw herself in his arms to sob until her heart felt numb. He wrapped his arms around her, trying to comfort her and hopefully rub away any more ideas of going into Muggle London._

 _He had obviously failed, as Magdalene changed from her funeral clothes. She had arrived the day before, and found that her parents' friends had claimed their bodies in her absence. They said that they had tried to telephone to her boarding school but they did not find a number to there. She nodded absently, numbly. Her mother's high school friend had brought her food, but they both knew it was going to go to waste. Eating was the last thing on her mind._

 _Magdalene realised with a cynical snort that her parents were murdered on December 24th and proceeded to tear away at the Christmas tree that stood, arrogantly festive in the living room. Her hands were webbed with cuts from the needles and garlands, and she was certain a shard of glass was embedded in her palm. She glided like a ghost to her parents' bedroom and lied, facedown, on their bed. She inhaled the remains of their scent from their pillows, but it was faint. As though her mother had changed the beddings the day before she died. For the first time in days, Magdalene gave in to sleep, hugging a pillow with both arms and legs._

 _That was, until she heard the sordidly familiar '_ snap _' of Apparition coming from the corridor. She gasped and jumped from her parents' bed. She looked around for her wand frantically, before remembering that it was in her bedroom. Thankfully, it was adjacent. She grabbed a photo of her parents as children, in case she needed to flee her apartment, and ran to her bedroom. She grabbed Shyvana and unceremoniously threw her into the duffel bag that she had not unpacked from her days with Justin and Dean. She located her wand on her bedside table and waited anxiously in her room. She mentally cursed herself for forgetting to set up wards._

 _"I thought you said they were Muggles, Scabior?" A male voice demanded._

 _"That's what Avery told me. You wanna take it out on someone, well, choose him. I follow orders, Nott."_

 _Avery._

 _Nott._

 _Familiar names. Magdalene cursed the Sorting Hat for putting her in such a House. She held her wand at the ready when she heard footsteps in the hallway. She eyed her broomstick, leaning against the wall, behind her door. She briefly considered taking it but all projects flew away as the door banged open. She refused to take in the features of the people who were most likely responsible for the murder of her parents._

 _"Well, well." Scabior murmured as he saw the Slytherin articles of clothing littering the floor. "I told you there were Mudbloods in Slytherin. They just know not to advertise it."_

 _The other man (Nott, she figured) remained silent. He looked shocked at her sight. He looked as though he'd seen her die before and met her again in that messy room._

 _"Ivy." He muttered, unintelligibly to Scabior and clear as day to Magdalene._

 _Instinctively, her gaze fell to the framed photo she still had in hand. Nott walked over to her, paying her no heed as she raised her wand threateningly, and snatched the photo from her hand. His knuckles turned white as he gripped the frame with what seemed like all his might._

 _"Impossible." He breathed, his eyes going back and forth between the frame and her terrified face. "Impossible."_

 _"Come on, Nott, if Lestrange—"_

 _"I don't give a damn about Lestrange! This witch is Half-Blood and she's returning to Hogwarts." Nott stated, and from his tone and Scabior's surrender, she knew that he was the one in charge._

 _"All right, all right! If they give me shite, I'll say it was your doing!"_

 _"Of course you will, you coward." He muttered sarcastically._

 _Magdalene fought back the urge to say "Like father like son."_

 _When Scabior went back to the living room, or the kitchen (as she heard him open the refrigerator), Nott grabbed her arm roughly. "Mention this to anyone, and you'll meet a fate worse than death." He raised the frame. "I'm keeping this. I expect you back in Hogwarts by the end of Christmas holidays, or I'll finish the job myself. Understood?"_

 _She nodded, unsure that she could trust her voice. She wanted to ask why he'd spared her, and why her parents' photo qualified as 'impossible', but she thought it wise not to speak._

 _He kept her gaze firmly before muttering with what sounded like disappointment. "You have your father's eyes."_

 _Then she wondered how he knew her father's eye colour. The photo he held was in black and white and taken from too far away for any eye colour to be discerned. She, at that specific moment, was only glad that she got to live._

 _"We're leaving, Scabior. And tell Lestrange that you murdered perfectly good wizards because of your lack of discernment."_

 _'_ Snap _'!_

 _"Of course, it's the Death Eater that gets all the praise." Scabior muttered, slamming a door._

 _'_ Snap _'!_


	7. Chapter Seven

**Chapter Seven:**

Days passed after the official release of the Goblet of Fire in one usually empty classroom, in which there were benches for onlookers. Theo sat with Blaise and Victoria, both of whom had their noses in a book. He was watching the potential Champions, making comments he knew his friends only half-heard but nodded to anyway.

"D'you think that bulky lad is going to put in his name?" He asked, his hands gripping the bench on either side of his thighs.

Blaise nodded silently and Victoria hummed. By then, Theo wanted legitimate responses, so he started throwing familiar names for the sake of a reaction.

"D'you reckon Pansy will sign up?"

"Mhm."

"Yeah."

"D'you think Potter will put in his name?"

"Yes."

"Why not?" Blaise asked, attempting to make Theo stop and think before speaking again.

"What about Astoria?"

"Yeah."

"Hm."

"Middleton?"

"Yes."

"Yeah."

"Draco?"

"Hm."

"Ye—wait what?" Victoria looked up from her Astronomy textbook as though snapping awake from a trance.

"Will Draco put in his name?" Theo asked again, genuinely interested in the answer following her reaction.

"No, he won't. We promised Narcissa that we wouldn't. So that answers your question about me." She stated firmly, turning (and nearly tearing) a page.

"What about Middleton?" Theo asked, hoping for a genuine answer again.

"She will." Blaise answered this time, looking more than annoyed with the prospect.

Theo's blood ran cold at that. He straightened up. "How do you know?"

"Read her mind." Blaise stated simply. "She needs to learn Occlumency."

"That's exactly what I told her." Victoria added, glad for a change of subject as opposed to Theo who was fuming.

"Are you actually serious?"

Victoria shrugged and nodded towards the Goblet. "See for yourself."

Theo's eyes flew to where Victoria nodded and, to his horror; Magdalene was within the age line drawn by McGonagall and Granger, with her hand extended towards the blue fire. Without thinking, he drew his wand and muttered an ' _Expelliarmus_ ' under his breath, sending the paper slip flying across the room. Her puzzled look did not have time to travel around the room for the culprit as he jumped over the level that Blaise and Victoria sat on, not stopping once as he stormed over to her and past the age line. He gripped her arm, perhaps more tightly than he'd intended, and dragged her out of the room unintentionally shouldering Draco on his way in. He frowned at the pair and scoured the benches for his cousin.

He sat in the spot Theo previously occupied, resting his elbows on his knees and cupping his hands. "What's up with Theo?"

"Go figure." Blaise muttered, turning a page of his Muggle Studies textbook.

"He lost his marbles when he learned that Middleton intended to put her name in the Goblet of Fire," Victoria explained, her eyes not leaving the page she had to re-read for lack of concentration.

"Is she?" Draco asked, his brow furrowing.

"You sound surprised." Blaise observed, turning his attention to his friend.

"Doesn't sound like her style." He shrugged.

"She's doing it for the money. _Someone_ ruined her chances at a job interview, a while ago." Victoria spat, side-eyeing her cousin with contempt.

"Will you never let it go, Victoria?" Draco growled, scowling at the white-clad Slytherin.

She shut her book and stood up. "Not for as long as I am in Hogwarts."

"You're skipping classes anyway, so why'd you complain?" Draco pointed out, leaning back against the bench higher than the one he sat on.

"I'm not—" She started to object but cut herself off at the last second.

"Flitwick still doesn't know you're back for your N.E. ," Blaise remarked.

"Charms is superfluous anyway," she tried sounding nonchalant and failed.

"It's always been your favourite subject, Victoria." Blaise observed, closing his book after marking the page.

"And you've always had the disgusting habit of dog-earing pages of your books." She spat, making her leave.

"What's onto her?" Draco wondered aloud.

"I don't know, mate, she's your cousin not mine." Blaise snapped, involuntarily sending his negativity towards Draco as Sven, the Durmstrang student who had interrupted his conversation with Magdalene the night before, slipped his name in the Fire.

Draco frowned minutely at Blaise and wondered what was up with his entourage. As an after-thought, he wondered if that was how he was perceived in sixth year. He shook his head as he, too, stood up and left the Goblet room.

Victoria was glad to find her dormitory empty as she slammed the door and cast a Silencing Charm. _Who the hell cares about Charms anyway?_ She pondered as she threw her book across the room as hard as she could. She heard the binding break and went to retrieve the book to repair it. She gave a humourless snort as her ' _Reparo_ ' worked beautifully. She did not need to attend Charms class, and for more reasons than the memory that would forever haunt that classroom.

The past two years had been nothing but bad surprises for the blonde. First: her parents and Uncle were Death Eaters again. Second: Lucius was in prison, and it had a taken its toll on Narcissa's mood and health. Third: Draco was assigned a suicide mission by Lord Voldemort as punishment for Lucius's failure at the Department of Mysteries. Now, who would be as insane as to ask Draco to murder the greatest wizard of all time? The Dark Lord must have known that Draco would be incapable of doing it; had he really hoped for him to succeed he would have ordered Victoria instead. She knew that the remaining Malfoys were informed of Draco's mission, as she knew that they thought she was not. But she noticed that something was wrong the very day after he had visited the Dark Lord, a week later she made Draco speak. She swore to help him, keep the secret and be his right-hand. In the end, Snape was who carried the deed. Vicky stayed out of everything, refusing to go with Bellatrix, Greyback and the Carrows when they were fleeing the castle.

The next school year was chaotic. The headmistress was McGonagall at first, then she was replaced by Snape who put the Carrows in charge of Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw's discipline. Needless to say, she was constantly worried about Draco's and her parents who were to attend each of the meetings with the Dark Lord and the Death Eaters. She had made it clear to her parents that she did not want to be linked to the Death Eaters in any way, because unlike the Averys, the Parkinsons, the Crabbes, the Goyles and the like, they (her father, really) did ask before submitting her to the Dark Lord, and she had refused.

The biggest hit of her last year of studies had been the Battle of Hogwarts. She not only saw many of her friends die but she also had to witness her own father's death…

 _The blonde Slytherin had chosen to stick with the Order when Professor McGonagall presented her with her options. She knew that her family would be among the Death Eaters and she would do her best to protect the ones she loved. The battle was raging on when she was attacked by Greyback in front of the grand staircase._

 _"Well, well," he crooned, "look what we have here? Looks like a defected Malfoy to me."_

 _"Rectu—!" She cursed._

 _But he was too fast. "Expelliarmus!"_

 _She quickly Accio'd her wand and Apparated out of the place, the wards long gone. She found herself in the corridor near Charms classroom, so she decided to take refuge there while catching her breath, as it seemed a quiet area. She slammed the door behind her and slid down its length in a long sigh of her no-longer-white outfit against the ancient wood. She was nearly sitting on the floor when she heard a slow, weak, wheezing breath. She scrambled to grab her wand again, falling gracelessly before she was able to stand up properly. She went to the source of the sound, behind Flitwick's desk. Her hand, previously closed tightly around her wand, slackened and the wand fell to the stone floor in a pathetic clatter. Her father was lying on the floor, his hand raised above his head, his fingers barely grazing those of a woman in a Death Eater mask that she could only guess was her mother. He gave a sickly wheezing gasp when his eyes met her._

 _"Vic— Victoria," he groaned._

 _She ran and knelt at his side. "Papa, what happened, who did this? Is that Maman?"_

 _"Do-Doesn't matter," he dismissed, "I need… I need to t-tell you one thing…"_

 _"I'm listening," she breathed during his pause, tears pooling over her dirty cheeks._

 _"I don't have much time left," he sighed noisily, "but—"_

 _"No, we can find some help, I can steal some healing potions, I can—" she stammered as she reached for her wand. "Vul—Vulnera Sanentur—wait, I can do it—"_

 _"Shush," he hissed in pain "I am no child; I know when I am g-going to die… You need to know, V-Victoria, that your mother and I love y-you—"_

 _"—I know—" she reassured him, pain and sobs splattering her voice._

 _"N-No you don't," he hissed again, "we never showed you, and we never showed one another that we love you… Not unt-til Voldemort came back, d-did we realise that— you're our greatest treasure," he took some time to breathe properly. "I love you, daughter… Brother… Wife… B-Be safe, Victoria Malfoy…"_

 _"I will," she squeezed out through sobs. "I promise I will, Pa—" she stopped speaking when she noticed that his gaze wasn't focused anymore. "Papa?" She called shaking him a bit. "Papa, please answer me!"_

 _She carried on calling for him, pleading and begging him to come back to life. But he didn't. His upper body felt limp in her arms as she hugged him while crying her eyes out, throat burning from her repetitive sobs and choking on air. She cried for a half-hour, long enough to witness Voldemort's message about his forces retreating and Harry Potter joining him to the Forbidden Forest. She laid her father's body on the floor; eyelids closed. She gave a longing look at her mother's still body, debating whether she should unmask her and deciding against it; and joined the others in the Great Hall. There, she found Draco sitting with Blaise and Theo. Her face was still swollen from crying when she sat down next to him and snatched his coffee cup from his hands._

 _He looked at her. "Glad to know you're safe," he said matter-of-factly yet it still sounded bitter in his mouth._

 _"How did they let you in? Didn't Lord Voldemort tell you to retreat?" She spat, unable to hide her disgust for Death Eaters even though she knew it was never Draco's choice or his fault._

 _Her comment seemed to have hurt him as his face fell. "They let me in because I had defected and had enough witnesses to prove so, so have Blaise and Theo…"_

 _"Crabbe and Goyle still following orders, eh?" She asked before sipping on the warm beverage and closing her eyes with delight._

 _He stared at her gravely. "Crabbe's dead, Victoria."_

 _Her eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. "Are you serious?" She was still able to maintain her composure._

 _"More than serious, I saw him die with my own eyes." Draco said, not bothering to get into detail._

 _"Who else?" She asked, not daring to show the concern in her eyes._

 _"One of the Weasley kids," he said evasively "Lupin… And Tonks" he added for emphasis._

 _Her mouth was an indefinite 'o' before she spoke. "Tonks? Are you sure?" She had always wanted to get to know her, if for nothing else than to defy her mother's prejudices._

 _He nodded slowly before adding, "Apparently it was Bellatrix… We're not sure though."_

 _"Anyone else?" She asked._

 _"Brown, Weasley's ex-girlfriend. I saw her body when I came in here… Who do you know of?" He asked._

 _She nearly choked on his former drink, making Theo and Blaise who were having a conversation of their own glance at her, before saying, "Wh-What do you mean?"_

 _"Haven't you seen anyone's… Passing away?" He asked, avoiding the word 'death'._

 _She stared at him intensely before saying, "Cassiopeia… and Marcus." letting a prolonged, awkward silence settle as all three of the Slytherin boys stared at her in shock._

 _Draco put a hand on her shoulder "Vicky, I—"_

 _"Stop it," she warned, not wanting her crying to resume in front of so many people._

 _Blaise stood up to face her, he put his hands on her knees "It's all right to cry, he was your dad and—"_

 _"Yes but I don't cry, I just… Don't," she forced out, removing his hands from her legs._

 _Theo glanced at her. "Want to kill some more Death Eaters? I'm sure there's going to be a Round Two," he offered most casually._

 _She smirked before giving him her clenched fist, which he bumped against his own. "That's what I'm talking about," she said making the other two gape._

 _"Leave me some, alright?"_

 _"No guarantee there, Nott," she said before sipping back her now-cold coffee._

Theo had always been her favourite friend, but she got further confirmation that day. She removed the Silencing Charm as she set to fixing everything she had knocked over in her fit of rage and belated grief. However, before she could raise her wand, she heard commotion in the corridor that split into dormitories, and she would have paid it no heed had it not been familiar voices.

"Leave me alone, Nott!" Middleton bellowed, obviously unaware of how scared she sounded.

"Not until you listen to me—" He sounded more furious than Victoria had ever heard him. Theo never raised his voice for other than laughter or calling someone over and _meaning_ to embarrass them in the process.

"On what grounds, huh? What kind of authority do you think you have over me that I should listen to you?" Victoria stuck out her bottom lip. Maybe the Muggle-Born was not _as_ weak as she'd thought.

"On the grounds that people die in the Tournament, and what're you gonna do it for? Money? Fame? Are you really _that_ shallow?" He demanded, sounding awfully close, as though he were yelling at the door on the other side of which Victoria stood.

"You have no right over me or my safety, you did your due during the Battle, but you're not the boss of me, Nott. Not even because your father spared me." Victoria frowned. Cantankarus Nott, the author of a book about the Sacred Twenty-Eight, had spared the life of a Muggle-Born? Slytherin she might have been, Middleton was still a Muggle-Born no matter how much green she wore.

Theo's voice sounded cold and decisive as it cut through the eerily silent common room. "I have every right over your safety; you're my last living relative."

The air chilled, even through the door as Victoria's heartbeat stopped. She immediately stepped over to the door and opened it, facing Middleton pressed against the wall of their dormitory and Nott standing uncomfortably close to her, his breathing stilled as though he never meant to reveal what he'd just revealed. When he turned to look at Victoria, who had released a tiny gasp at their sight, he tightened his jaw and stepped away from Middleton (or was it Nott by now?). He snarled like an angry werewolf and punched the wall opposing them, making both girls flinch. He then stormed away and the girls took a shocked look at one another, agreeing not to reach for him until he calmed down, and never to mention that exchange to anyone.


	8. Chapter Eight

**Chapter Eight:**

"Are you sure you don't know what he meant?" Victoria asked, once the dormitory was clean and closed.

Middleton swallowed and shook her head. "I'm Muggle-Born as far as I know, but my parents met at the orphanage they grew up in, so I don't really know, I guess."

"Do you or do you _not_ know?" Victoria asked with genuine curiosity.

"I don't know what I know anymore!" Middleton bellowed, making Victoria jump with the suddenness of her yell. "I'm sorry, I just… This is weird, and I don't even know if he's right or not or if it's just a misunderstanding…"

"What's that thing about Cantankarus sparing you?" Victoria asked timidly, never having been a fan of eavesdropping.

"Who's Cantankarus?"

"Theo's father."

Magdalene told her about the raid Cantankarus and Scabior did on her Grays apartment, which was the reason for her return to Hogwarts the previous year. Victoria nodded slowly, considering all the information thrust upon her and subconsciously glad for distraction from the thought of her father's death. After some time, they heard snarls and crashing furniture in the room adjacent to theirs.

Victoria sighed. "That'll be Theo."

Magdalene's eyes followed her as she stood up. "Isn't it dangerous to interact with him when he's so… explosive?"

"I know how to calm him down," she stated simply. "By the way, I think you might really be his relative, though I don't know yet how."

"I'll try to find out, but I don't have much to go on." Magdalene admitted.

"I'll ask him to explain it to me when he's calmed down, but it'd be nice if you kept this to yourself for the moment." Victoria instructed, retrieving her wand from her nightstand drawer. After a thought, she also took a bag of Sugar Quills.

Magdalene frowned at the bag of candy. "You know, he's not six anymore?"

"Theo is a nervous eater. If I hand him this, devouring it will calm him down more quickly and I can hopefully get an answer before his roommates come ba—" she cut herself off as she heard voices in the common room. "Shit! I guess it's gonna have to wait. I'll try to take him for a walk."

Magdalene nodded absently as, when Victoria opened the door, Daphne and Shyvana both came in. The cat jumped on her mistress's bed immediately and Daphne acknowledged Magdalene with a tight smile. Soon came in Parkinson and Bulstrode, talking animatedly about their potential dates for the Yule Ball.

"I think I'm going to get asked by that lad from Beauxbatons, Stéphane. He keeps eyeing me in History of Magic, and he smiled at me the other day." Bulstrode ranted with a Scottish accent that Magdalene secretly found endearing.

"Eye contact and a smile do not equal interest, Millicent; you have to think outside the fourth year spectrum." Parkinson advised her, sounding much softer and gentler than when she interacted with non-Slytherins.

Her reputation as Draco's female counterpart as a bully was well founded, but Parkinson was more loyal than a Hufflepuff to Slytherin students. Granted, she never defended Magdalene against Draco's jeers and comments about how she had been Sorted into the wrong House, but she never directly harmed Magdalene, be it physically or emotionally. She did, however, avoid having to speak to the Muggle-Born directly as other than complaining about cat hair or asking about living practicalities when no Pure Blood was responsive or present, (although the former was directed at Millicent and her tabby as well). Parkinson would defend Bulstrode, Davis, and the younger Greengrass whenever some bully (Slytherin and others alike) thought they looked like easy prey. Not every Pure Blood female had as much personality as Parkinson, Daphne, and Victoria; and some cowards would grapple at that occasion. But the childhood friends, as Magdalene learned in her seven years of living with them, took it upon themselves to right some wrongs.

"Then who's going to ask me?" Bulstrode pouted as she patted the end of her bed for her cat to hop up and join her.

"How about you asked Gregory?" Daphne suggested.

"Don't be ridi—" Parkinson was going to dismiss her with a wave of her hand but Daphne shushed her.

"They like each other, Pans'; just because he doesn't fit _your_ standards, doesn't mean he wouldn't be good for her." Daphne reasoned; conjuring the embroidery she had been working on for a few weeks. Out of the six of them, half of the Slytherins had to wear reading glasses: Parkinson, Daphne, and Magdalene.

"Perhaps, but I'm looking out for her. Greg may fancy her but he doesn't bring much to the table. Plus, _he_ has to ask _her_."

"Well then, it might be time to shake up tradition a bit, might it not?" Daphne remarked, pulling her needle in the air as punctuation.

Parkinson was going to speak but was interrupted by a peculiar knock on their door.

 _Knock kno-knock!_

"Did Theo offend you in any way, Daphne?" Parkinson asked and, noticing Magdalene's frown, she explained, "This is his 'I have apologies to present' knock."

Daphne shrugged without looking up from her work and Bulstrode shook her head as she glanced at the door. Parkinson was going to answer it when the door opened to Victoria's head poking in.

"Middleton, bring your arse over here." Her tone became firm as she noted the presence of their roommates.

Magdalene, who had spent her roommates' interaction rummaging through her trunk for her parents' old photo album, got up and left as soon as she found it, though she didn't take it with her. She could feel the tense interrogation in the air as they all fell silent until she got out, but decided it was a matter she could deal with later. When she got to the corridor, Theodore was nibbling on a Sugar Quill while Victoria looked anxious.

"Go on," she nudged Theo on his side. He did nothing. "We haven't got all day, go on."

"I apologise for yelling at you." He muttered dejectedly.

Magdalene frowned and glanced at Victoria who indicated she returned the apology. "I accept your apology." Seeing Victoria still unsatisfied, she added, "And I apologise for not hearing your arguments."

Victoria then nudged Theo again, who sighed heavily. "I obviously accept your apology. Are we done, _Mum_?" He whined.

"Most certainly not, now you're going to explain yourself about the declaration." Victoria's tone was firm and instigated another sigh from him.

"Fine!" He made his way to his dormitory and, seeing Victoria about to object, he added, "I have something to retrieve from my trunk, I'll be here in a second."

Once he was alone with Goyle in their room, he sighed, more deeply this time. Ignoring Goyle's question about what was going on; he opened his trunk and knew exactly where to look for the letter that changed his views on the notorious Slytherin Muggle-Born. He went to join the girls in the common room and found them talking to Blaise and Draco. He gritted his teeth, unready to deal with _their_ pressing questions. He thanked Salazar that the common room was empty during his outburst; otherwise, he'd be in for a Spanish Inquisition.

"Theo, what was it about, earlier?" Blaise asked, worry tinting his voice more than curiosity. Theo briefly wondered whom Blaise's worry aimed at.

"He has a crush on her, obviously," Victoria drawled sarcastically as she pulled a shaken Magdalene to her feet. "Now he's going to propose, and I have to be his wing woman, if you'll excuse us."

"You're a horrible liar," Draco objected.

"And you'd be thick to think I was serious," she retorted before they disappeared behind the door.

"What's up with them?" Draco wondered aloud.

"Still not my cousin," Blaise observed, this time with a hint of malice as he retreated to their dormitory, making Draco chuckle.

As they walked towards the Black Lake, which was the consensus for a quiet place to talk, the three Slytherins heard screaming in one classroom.

"You act like I'm still eleven, that's ridiculous!" Ginny Weasley bellowed, exiting the scene of what might have been a similar argument that had occurred between Theo and Magdalene earlier.

"You're not putting in your name, and that's final!" Potter's voice retorted firmly, following her into the hall.

"You're not my father!"

"I don't believe his opinion would differ from mine, Ginny, don't make me owl your mother with your intentions!"

She faltered. "You wouldn't dare."

"Watch me," he challenged calmly.

With no retort, Weasley stomped away from Potter, who gave an uneasy glance towards the only spectators of what might seem like his break up scene.

Theo whistled. "Trouble in paradise, Potter?"

"Shut up, Nott," he grumbled, leaving their presence.

"Well," Theo grinned at the girls, "that was pleasant."

"And time-consuming. Let's get to the docks." Victoria ordered, and the procession was solemnly quiet.

They sat at the tip of the docks, Theo between the girls as they dangled their feet over the water. He gulped hard and stared at the mountainous horizon.

"Well? We don't have much time before dinner, so start spilling." Victoria bade.

"Magdalene is my cousin," Theo announced grimly. "Her mother was a Squib and Grandmother Nott feared for her life when, at eight, she still showed no sign of accidental magic. She was afraid her husband would find out and take it out on their daughter, Cassiopeia."

Victoria let out a quick gasp at the similarity with her own mother's name. She seemed to be doing quick thinking, adding things up in her mind to make all the information make sense to her. Magdalene's mouth gaped then, realising that her whole life and her mother's had been a lie.

"But then, how come my mum doesn't remember anything about the Wizarding World?" She asked, breaking the long silence that had settled.

"He didn't say, but he gave me two old photos with his letter. His instructions were clear: I have to protect you, whether you like it or not." Theo admitted grimly.

"Lovely," she sighed. "Can I see the photos?"

He extended them to her and she gasped, recognising the photo that Cantankarus had taken from her when he saved her life. Her mother stood next to her father, both ten years old at the time, and both wearing the white and grey uniform of their orphanage. Her mum was grinning widely, one hand behind her back and the other holding her father's. They looked like best friends. Her mother's hair was dark, almost black; and her father had flaming red hair that was neatly combed though it was obvious he'd normally spike it up.

The second, Magdalene was still surprised to see, was not a Muggle photograph. It showed the same little girl, two years younger and dressed in fancy lace. Though taken at different times, and in different circumstances, not to mention that one of them was static, the girl in both photos was undoubtedly the same. Her dark hair caught the sunlight in a brown halo as she whipped around to run after a boy who looked no older than twelve who had pulled her hair in the first second of the photograph. They were in a nicely-decorated winter garden, with undulated metal chairs and a tea set steaming. It looked like spring, or summer, and her mother looked happy as she chased whom Magdalene guessed to be Theo's father, _her uncle_.

"That's… That's really weird," she muttered finally. "So… we're cousins?"

"So it would seem," he agreed seriously before grinning. "Lucky you."

"This garden is it… Do you live in that house?" Magdalene asked awkwardly.

Before Theo could speak, Victoria snatched up the photos, intending to see for herself. She frowned at the photographs, trying to give a new eye to the situation and to satisfy her own curiosity.

"Yes. He still lives there, why?" Victoria answered, but as she extended her hands over Theo's lap to give back the photos, Magdalene had lurched forward to get the photos back, making the Muggle photograph fall in the water.

"No!" She gasped and extended her hand downwards, but her weight overpowered her and she fell in the freezing October water of the Lake.

The end of the dock was placed far enough in the lake that she could not stand and breathe at the same time. She swam back to the surface, holding out the photo, which Victoria accepted. Theo then held out his hand for her to grab, but as soon as she extended her arm, she felt something like a rope tighten around one of her ankles. She only had a second to gasp for air as she was dragged along to the depths of the Lake. She saw seaweed flashing past her and heard the faint crash of someone diving into the water. As air got scarce, she focused on making the tentacle of what she could only guess was the giant squid release her. She used her nails to scratch the rough skin but it only resulted in a tighter grip.

Theo swam as fast as he could when he saw that Magdalene's wand had stayed on the dock. He needed to get close to her enough not to curse her accidentally. When he got close enough, the squid having lost speed, he saw that she had lost consciousness. He sped ahead and sent a ' _Reducto_ ' at the squid, who released her to fall to the bottom of the lake, which extended to a hundred yards below the surface by then. He went to grab her and sent a silent spell to shoot them to the surface. He took her to the dock where Victoria was anxiously awaiting their return.

She accepted the unconscious Magdalene and helped Theo up. "What was it?"

"The blasted squid won't let her go until I cursed it!" He snarled as he got to his knees at her side and pointed his wand at the base of her throat. " _Anapneo_!"

She regained consciousness sputtering water out of her mouth and coughing until her breathing stilled. She had tears in her eyes from the stinging in her throat and lungs and she looked frantically around her.

"My wand! Where's my wand?" She demanded panic overtaking her.

"It's right here, come on we have to see Madam Pomfrey," Theo sighed, pulling her to her feet.

"I need to dry the photo or it's going to be ruined," she protested as Victoria handed her the dry photograph.

"You were in there for more than ten minutes; I couldn't wait while doing nothing." She explained with a sympathetic smile.

"That was a nice thing to do." Magdalene remarked, taken aback.

"I'm nice, sometimes." She shrugged as they made their way up to the Hospital Wing.

"This, right here, is why I don't want you putting your name in the Goblet of Fire," Theo declared, putting the jumper he had discarded before diving on Magdalene's shoulders.

"That is neither here nor there," she objected calmly. "I was taken by surprise and _wandless_ , Theo." He smirked. "What?"

"This is the first time you used my first name."

She raised an eyebrow. "You sound surprised. Aside from Blaise, I'm not on first-name-basis with anyone in Slytherin House."

"A pity, really." He muttered, shoving his hands in his pockets as they rounded a corner in the entrance hall.

They came face to face with McGonagall and Sprout, whose eyes reflected shock at the sight of the cousins.

"What the devil have you two been doing?" McGonagall demanded commandingly.

"A precious photograph fell in the water and long story short; the giant squid almost drowned me. Mr. Nott saved me and we're on our way to the Hospital Wing," Magdalene explained casually, fighting back the clatter of her teeth.

"You need some Pepperup Potion, both of you." McGonagall stated before considering Theo, who had spiked his wet hair up in various directions on their way to the castle. "And ten points for Slytherin."

Victoria smirked at Theo whose grin reached his ears. He flung his arm around Magdalene's shoulders. "What can I say, it's in my nature."

"Now go along, before you catch something." Sprout instructed with a chuckle that shook her upper body. "Now, as I was saying, Professor, I don't believe that Devil's…" Her voice trailed off as both parties reached their respective goals.

Pomfrey fussed over them, drying their clothes with her wand before giving them both a potion that made steam come out of their ears. She instructed them to go to her if they felt anything like cold symptoms, and gave an ointment to Magdalene to apply on her ankle, where the squid had gripped her.

"If it's still purple in two days, come back to me and I'll see what I can do. Meanwhile, eat soup at dinner and dry your hair before going to the Great Hall."

They both agreed and made their way to the Slytherin common room with a flawless-looking Victoria Malfoy. A French student wolf-whistled at Magdalene, whose white shirt had become see-through and showed her cleavage. Theo sent a glare towards the blue-clad boy and wrapped her in his dark jumper again. Victoria snorted at the sight.

"Something funny, Malfoy?" He asked, irritated.

"It's weird, seeing the most inappropriate person I know acting so appropriately." She giggled, Magdalene's puzzled gaze feeling suddenly heavy. She huffed, "I know how to laugh, Middleton."

"I never would've thought." She bit back sarcastically.

"Calm it, you two." Theo chuckled.

"Yeah, now she's one of us. I can't wait to see the girls' reaction," Victoria smirked.

"You're gonna have to wait before advertising it, Malfoy." Magdalene murmured as a group of Slytherin fifth years walked past them.

"Why?" Both Theo and Victoria asked, stopping their pace.

"I want to earn my place." She said simply. "Both in your little group and in society. I don't want my place in a Pure Blood family to bring me everything, ready to grab."

Theo pursed his lips and Victoria considered her. "There could be a way," she said finally, tapping her chin.

"I'm listening," Magdalene replied, leaning her shoulder against the wall and folding her arms over her chest.

"You put your name in the Goblet of Fire and win the Tournament." She stated simply, earning a glare from Theo. "You hold your horses; she won't be alone in that. We have a whole year of Slytherins, and probably even all of Hogwarts to back us up. We'll know how to exploit our resources. Not only will this help her financially, as Draco went and ruined her job interview at the Zabinis', but it will also restore the status of Slytherin House in Hogwarts. Imagine this: a Slytherin Champion of Hogwarts, _and_ Triwizard Champion, Theo! She'd shield all of us who have been misjudged because of the Second Wizarding War," she goaded, knowing just how to pull the right strings to make him agree with her. She fixed the collar of his wrung shirt. "Not to mention that soon after she wins, people will know she's related to you and you'll get to share the spotlight."

Magdalene's eyebrows shot up at Victoria's compelling arguments and she could see Theo's resolve crumble physically as he snarled playfully at Victoria.

"You'll be the death of me, and I'll say 'Yes, please!' D'you know that?"

"Um I'm new to all of this, so, what just happened?" Magdalene asked as they entered the common room.

"You can now put your name in the Goblet of Fire." Victoria answered, avoiding the crowd in the common room and answering in the corridor.

"Oh." She said simply.

"But can't we tell anyone about the news?" Victoria whined.

"No, and I'm seriously considering Obliviating you, right now." Magdalene warned.

"Why not? Not even Draco? Blaise?" Victoria negotiated, nearly batting her eyelashes.

"I agree with her." Theo nodded towards Magdalene. "It's too soon, we need to get to know one another first."

Victoria considered him for a moment before sighing. "Your call. So, what's your cover-up for the argument?"

"I'll think of something," Theo muttered before saying the common room password.

When the trio penetrated the common room, every gaze (local and foreign) turned to them for at least a second. Blaise and Draco were nowhere to be seen, so Magdalene guessed that they were in their dormitory, since it was approaching dinner and they usually chose to change their clothes before then. Theo and Victoria both made their way to the boys' dormitory, but Magdalene went to the girls' dormitory. She changed into comfortable clothes and dried her hair using her wand. She did that wordlessly until Daphne entered the room and saw her.

"Did you shower?" She asked, trying to fit the shower into the tight timeline of when she saw Magdalene leave.

"I fell in the Lake." She stated simply, folding her clothes. She gave Daphne a warm smile.

Daphne's face asked Magdalene dozens of questions as the latter left, her cat trailing behind with her tail straight up.


End file.
